GUILDERLAND — The whirr of helicopters and the rat-ta-tat-tat of gunfire could be heard on Grant Hill Road Friday.

National Guard soldiers set up a command post at the shooting range there for a three-day Best Warrior competition. This is the 42nd annual competition, meant to test physical fitness, military knowledge, endurance, and marksmanship. 

Sergeant First Class Michael Trask tossed a smoke grenade into the field that sent up a cloud of bright yellow vapors, marking the spot where two Black Hawk helicopters would land.

Soldiers in camo emerged from the helicopters and joined others who had arrived by bus.

Dozens of dome-shaped tents — some in camouflage for fields, others for snow — were set up near a tower at the range.

Against the steep cliffs edging the back of the range — with cascades of snow still present on the spring-like day — soldiers worked to solve land navigation problems.

The competition had begun early Friday morning with a physical-fitness regimen, said Lieutenant Colonel Paul Bailie. It will end with a 12-mile ruck march — walking fast over rough terrain with a heavy backpack — in the Pine Bush, he said.

Bailie explained that local units compete for a statewide competition held later this spring at Camp Smith Training Site. The winners of that event compete regionally with the chance to go on to national competition. In 2021, New York Army National Guard Corporal Dakoatah Miller finished in second place in national competition.

Five Soldiers assigned to the New York Army National Guard’s Latham-based 42nd Expeditionary Combat Brigade are competing this weekend. The soldiers represent the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, the 642nd Aviation Maintenance Battalion, and the brigade Headquarters Company.

The headquarters is designed to provide mission command for up to four aviation battalions and an aviation support battalion. The brigade’s New York units have over 1,000 soldiers.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, brigade members have deployed to Iraq and Kuwait in support of United States military operations.

Bailie described the soldiers competing in Guilderland this weekend as “the best of the best … physically fit and mentally capable.”