FORT MOORE, Ga. (WRBL) — Competitors from across the U.S. Army and its allies arrived at Fort Moore nearly two weeks ago for the preliminary stages of Armor Week. This week, the Sullivan Cup officially began. By Friday, May 3, it was all over.
In an awards ceremony held an hour after the final event of the Sullivan Cup, awards went out to the best Bradley- and best M1 Abrams tank crews. This year, U.S. teams took home both wins.
The 1st Cavalry Division won for Best Bradley Crew, while the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment won for Best Tank Crew.
“If I ever wanted to win anything in my life, this is it right here,” said Staff Sgt. David Riddick of the 278th ACR, a National Guard unit based out of Knoxville, Tennessee.
He competed alongside tank crewmates Sgt. Joshua Owen, Spc. Noah Eddings and Spc. Seth Carter.
Riddick said it meant “everything” to win the competition and prove the skill and mettle of the men on his team. As a National Guard unit, the members of Riddick’s team do not train every day, which meant preparing for the competition sometimes required intense training hours.
According to the members of the 2024 Best Tank Crew, the win is not only proof of the skill of the team, but a testament to the quality of National Guard training.
Riddick added, “The pressure was real. It’s like, we knew we were competing against the best … so we knew we had to give it everything we had because everybody else was too.”
Armor Week winners were awarded commemorative pistols and posed with the Sullivan Cup trophy. They also received the honor of being entered into the Order of Saint George, a commendation which elicited a collective exclamation of admiration from the crowd.
Staff Sgt. James Brown competed with teammates Spc. William Walker and Pfc. Jeffrey Nickelson. Brown said the honor was a career highlight for him, but especially for his teammates who are in the beginning stages of their Army careers.
He said, “For me in my career and definitely for them, with them being a PFC and a specialist, they’re going to remember this for the rest of their career and I know it’s going to mean a lot for them.”
Brown highlighted that very few privates first class are part of the Order of Saint George.
He added, “I’m pretty sure he’s [Nickelson] probably the only PFC in the Army with an Order of Saint George right now, so that’s – it’s a pretty big deal for them.”
Ultimately, Brown credited his team’s win to the other two members of the team, who served as tank gunner and driver during the competition. The team will take their win back to their unit based out of Fort Cavazos, Texas.
The Sullivan Cup will return in 2026. Next year, Armor Week returns to Fort Moore with the Gainey Cup, reserved for cavalry scout troopers.
This year’s Sullivan Cup included 62 competitors making up three-person Bradley crews and four-person tank crews. International competitors were from Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Canada.
U.S. teams represented the 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, 1st Armored Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division and 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
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