Onetime Las Vegas plumber now Army’s Soldier of the Year

U.S. Army Photo

Spc. Adam Christensen, Las Vegas, participates in a lower-level Best Warrior Competition earlier thisyear.

By Brian Nordli (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013 | 2 a.m.

Three years ago, Adam Christensen was working as a plumber in Las Vegas when he decided to join the U.S. Army.

He signed up out of a desire to be part of something larger and a dream to become a Special Forces member. Today, the UNLV graduate has risen to the rank of specialist and has been named the U.S. Army Soldier of the Year for winning the Armys annual Best Warrior competition Nov. 19-22 at Fort Lee, Va.

Christensen, who is a military policeman stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, defeated 12 other soldiers from across the country in a competition of military skills and knowledge to win the honor. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno and Sgt. Maj. Ray Chandler recognized Christensen in a ceremony Wednesday at the Pentagon.

The Sun caught up with Christensen, 29, to ask him about the honor and what it took to be named Soldier of the Year. Here is what he had to say:

What did you go through to train for something like this?

The competition is the full spectrum of what you do in the Army. Wed shoot, practice disassembling and reassembling weapons. Wed practice reacting to chemical content. Just the basic soldier skills over and over and over again, and studying.

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Onetime Las Vegas plumber now Army's Soldier of the Year