Utah National Guardsman Named Region VII Soldier of the Year

DRAPER, UTAH — Spc. Caden Leonard of the Utah Army National Guard was named Soldier of the Year during the 2026 Region VII Best Warrior Competition awards banquet held April 30, 2026 at the 515th Regional Training Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Leonard earned the top honor after competing against soldiers from across the western United States and Pacific region in a multi-day test of physical fitness, marksmanship, land navigation and soldier skills. His victory advances him to the national-level Best Warrior Competition, where he will represent both the Utah National Guard and Region VII at Camp Blanding, Florida in July.

The annual competition brought together Army National Guard soldiers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, along with guest participants from Fiji, Kazakhstan and Tonga through the State Partnership Program.

Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Carper, New Mexico National Guard deputy adjutant general, praised competitors during the awards ceremony.

“Don’t let it end here,” Carper told participants. “Take the training and the opportunity to go back and take it to your units.”

Leonard joins a long list of Utah National Guard Soldiers who have advanced and represented the Beehive State at the national level over the last 15 years, including prior national level competition winners such as Sgt. Luke Cloward, the 2025 Army National Guard Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Sgt. Spencer Fayles, the 2022 Army National Guard Soldier of the Year, and Sgt. Guy Mellor, the 2011 U.S. Army Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.