U.S. Army reservist sold on military competition
By Lieutenant Colonel M. Joy Mann, USAFR

“It really was love at first sight,” said Colonel Roger R. Ullman (U.S. Army Reserve), secretary of the military competition (MilComp) committee and the international MilComp committee secretary. Although he’d read about CIOR and the competition in the Reserve Officer Association’s (ROA) magazine, he didn’t know much about the program until he was asked be vice chairman of the US MilComp Committee. He is now a life member of the ROA.

Although never a CIOR competitor himself, Ullman’s middle son, a major in the U.S. Marine Corps, was a competitor in 2004, serving on the technical jury in 2005. He is currently deployed in Iraq for his second tour and reports that his MilComp training and experience have proved invaluable and a true test of combat effectiveness. Ulman’s oldest son is a Navy Seal, continuing a family tradition.

With a varied military background, Ullman served as an active-duty Marine Corps infantry officer for seven years, including service in Vietnam and as a recruit trainer at Paris Island, S.C.  After 12 years with no affiliation with the military, he realized he missed the friendships and camaraderie, so he joined the Army Reserve and has been an active reservist for the past 19 years. 

Deploying to Saudi Arabia and Iraq during Desert Storm, he served with the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment and spent a year in Trinidad as the military advisor to the US ambassador in 1997. Recently serving as commander of the army element and deputy commander of the Iceland Defense Force Joint Reserve unit, at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, he found what he describes as a model of joint operations – with army, navy, air and marine personnel working together in the same unit. Taking operations to the next level, from joint to combined participation, this experience provided excellent training for his CIOR role.

Ullman sees many benefits of the MilComp program. First, there is the personal fitness aspect.  In order to be competitive an individual must train at least 600 hours during the year, which takes a level of dedication that only a few achieve.  Secondly, the skills that the competition focuses on, blended with the professional officer development, enhance the individual personally and professionally.  Thirdly, following these events, the service member returns to his or her respective unit better trained, potentially becoming leaders and instructors of warrior skills. 

The major goal for the U.S. MilComp Committee is securing a permanent funding source for the Joint Military Skills Training Center, with a capacity to train more than 1,000 military personnel each year, in Houston, Texas, said Ullman. Another challenge is selling the “good news” – with so many other events and activities competing for attention.

“The CIOR and the MILCOMP enhance fitness, professional development and relationships,” said Ullman. “These friendships enhance each warrior, so that we learn to work effectively with our combined and coalition allies, preparing us all for future deployments around the world.”