FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
The District of Columbia National Guard held its O’Neill Competition here June 6, the 81st anniversary of D-Day.
The competition, which tests participants' physical and mental strength and ability to overcome challenges under pressure, is named in honor Lt. Col. John C. O’Neill, a D.C. Guardsman who helped breach enemy defenses on Omaha Beach on D-Day -- June 6, 1944.
The competition pushed participants through a grueling day of military fundamentals — from ruck marches and weapons qualification to medical tasks and night navigation — designed to unify and strengthen the Warrior Ethos.
“This competition is about more than just winning,” said Capt. Emerson Price, the officer leading the event. “We’re expected to deploy. We’re expected to go win. And that starts with mastering the basic soldiering tasks—regardless of your specialty.”
Price was among several members of the G3 (Operations, Plans, and Training) section who developed the event structured to account for the D.C. National Guard’s unique composition.
“The organizational structure is unlike any other,” he explained. “We had to build something where an MP, a PAO, an Armor Captain — everybody — could compete on equal footing. So, we focused on 10-level tasks that every Soldier learns in basic training: PMCS a vehicle, read a TM, camouflage yourself, pass a radio check.”
The competition focused considerably on cooperation and coordination and included a night vision maze, where blindfolded Soldiers relied on their squad leaders and teamwork to complete the mission — simulating pressure in unfamiliar environments.
“In large-scale combat operations, everyone’s a Soldier,” Price said . “If you're a medic, you're doing medic tasks in the dark. If you're a cook, you're cooking with PBS-14s on. This isn't infantry-only anymore.”
Lt. Col. Robert Miron, deputy chief of staff for operations, emphasized how the event reinforced Army doctrine, prepared troops for real-world complexities, and strategic operational objectives as part of a larger campaign.
“There’s four tenets of operations: flexibility, simultaneity, synchronization, and—yes—flexibility again,” Miron said.
He also explained the motivation behind multiple events taking place simultaneously. This required leaders to synchronize across units and timelines; forcing them to be flexible while ensuring every participant was engaged.
“This fits exactly with the idea of large-scale combat operations,” he added. “You have to synchronize multiple units to strike in depth, at the right place and time. These tenets aren’t just theoretical—they’re operational realities. This competition reflects that.”
But the event also aimed to instill a deeper understanding of the National Guard’s legacy — and the sacrifices that come with the uniform.
Capt. Andrew Hargroder, Commander of the 273rd Military Police Company, pointed to the historical importance of the date and its direct relevance to D.C. Guardsmen.
“On that day, there were D.C. National Guardsmen who were MPs and part of headquarters elements,” Hargroder said. “They weren’t infantrymen. But if you read the after-action reports, once they hit the beach, they had to fight as infantry. What happened on D-Day sobers us to the fact that, at the end of the day, we’re in the business of killing and dying — for the Constitution and the American people. It’s less of a morale booster—but it’s an important lesson, no matter your branch of service.”
Following the competition, top performers received Army Commendation Medals and trophies, while those who completed the Norwegian Foot March earned a foreign badge.
Yet, for Price and the planning team, they hope competitors remember the underlying meaning.
“Lt. Col. John C. O’Neill put a Bangalore torpedo on enemy wire so others could push forward,” he said. “That takes courage. That’s the same patch we wear today. There’s greatness in the history of the D.C. National Guard. And we’re striving to live up to it.”
O’Neill lived in College Park, Maryland, and had served 10 years in the D.C. National Guard’s 121st Engineers before the outbreak of World War II. He commanded the 121st Engineer Combat Battalion in 1942 after its reorganization and on June 6, 1944, commanded a joint task force of Army and Navy combat engineers.
Of the units in the D.C. National Guard that served in the global conflict, the 372nd Military Police Battalion (121st Engineer Combat Battalion), the 104th Maintenance Company (104th Medium Maintenance Company), and 113th Wing (121st Observation and Liaison Squadron) remain active today.