site.btaVeliko Tarnovo to Host 2025 Best Warrior Competition on June 25-26

The 2025 Best Warrior Competition will be held in Veliko Tarnovo, North Central Bulgaria, on June 25 and 26, Chief Sergeant Kalin Krumov of the Bulgarian Armed Forces told the Bulgarian News Agency. The competition will feature seven Bulgarian teams representing the Joint Forces Command, Land Forces, Air Force, Navy, Military Police Service, and the Vasil Levski National Military University. International participants include the Tennessee National Guard (US), two teams from the Multinational Battlegroup (one Italian and one mixed) along with a team from the US Army’s V Corps, currently stationed at Novo Selo, and a team from Slovenia. Krumov said that plans are underway to further expand the international participation next year.

The contest will be held over two days and divided into four timed segments, testing a wide range of military skills.

The first day will include rapid-fire shooting with a 9 mm Makarov pistol, knife throwing at a target, a military obstacle course, grenade throwing at a target, a 6,000-meter speed march from the National Military University to the Belyakovets training area, and dynamic shooting with both 7.62 mm Kalashnikov rifles and 9 mm Makarov pistols.

The second day will begin with a 15,000-metre mass start run from the Belyakovets training area to the National Military University, where competitors will have to navigate a contaminated zone and pull and push a UAZ-469 military vehicle.

An open day will be held on June 26, featuring a mini-tournament for students, static and dynamic displays of military weapons and equipment, and a demonstration by Bulgarian servicepersons.

Krumov said that the competition is designed to assess not only the physical and psychological endurance of participants but also their leadership capabilities and team coordination. Another major goal is to promote the military profession.