A Soldier from the 595th Military Police Company competed in and won the 2009 Army Corrections Command Soldier of the Year "Best Warrior" competition held Jan. 22 and 23 in Tampa, Fla.

Private 1st Class Eric A. Bugarin, an internment and resettlement specialist, accomplished his goal when he won the ACC "Best Warrior" competition, as he represented the 508th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade during the American Corrections Association Winter Conference.

The day of the competition, Bugarin was confident he would outdo the other three Soldiers after receiving words of motivation from his supervisor, 1st Sgt. Jamie A. Kleppen.

"I knew on the physical fitness portion I had excelled because the first sergeant was timing me, but I was a little nervous about the board," said Bugarin.

The competition consisted of an Army Physical Fitness Test, a written exam, hands-on warrior tasks - including skill level one areas of first aid, communication and combat maneuvering - a mystery event and a board appearance in front of the ACC command sergeant major, the United States Disciplinary Barracks command sergeant major and command sergeants major from other Army internment and resettlement battalions.

"I know to always go in with confidence and shoot for first place, but when I was waiting for the winner to be announced, I was still a little nervous," Bugarin said.

"I already knew he was going to win and I have an overwhelming sense of pride by his accomplishment," Kleppen said.

Bugarin comressed three months of training into 10 days before the competition, running about three to four miles with Kleppen every morning, and doing about 100 push-ups and crunches a couple of times a day. He also studied for the board four to five hours a day - and all the work paid off.

"I really feel accomplished and proud, but even more so because my battalion commander, (command) sergeant major and first sergeant were excited and proud of me for winning," added Bugarin.

Bugarin will go on to compete in June for the title of "Soldier of the Year" for the Military District of Washington in Washington, D.C.

"I'm really excited to have the opportunity to compete at this level," he said.