Millerton soldier wins coveted award

MILLERTON — Spc. Tyson Klay has attained something that few military men can claim — he has been bestowed with the honor of being Soldier of the Year for the Massachusetts Army National Guard for the year 2009. (Klay explained he is in the Massachusetts National Guard because it offers better college enrollment benefits, covering 100 percent of tuition costs whereas New York does not.)

Klay, a Millerton native, has the military in his blood. His older brother, Lt. Sean Klay, serves with him in Massachusetts; his younger brother, Spc. Scott Klay, serves in Peekskill, N.Y.

"Being a part of the military to me represents that I’m carrying on the torch for other generations to live a life of freedom — like we all have been — and that we’re blessed with that from our forefathers," he said. "I’m honored to carry on the torch and to serve my country. I’ve never thought twice about doing it. Once I realized it was something I wanted to do, I’ve never looked back. I was 18 when I knew. It took me about a year to finally realize, but once I realized I finally wanted to do it, I chose that path."

And he’s excelled at it, too. The 23-year-old was recommended for the Soldier of the Year competition by his company. He had to go through two different levels of competition: the battalion level and then the board level. He then went through the troop command level. After those competitions, he was elevated to the state level, which consisted of a weekend long competition that included written exams, weapons qualification, an Army physical fitness test and warrior training tasks. Afterward, there was another board exam and then the next morning a 9.5-mile foot-march ruck. Overall, Klay came in first.

"I was honored to be chosen," he said. "It’s a lot of fun and I recommend anybody who gets the chance to do it, to do it. It makes you feel proud to wear the uniform and serve your country and to be chosen state Soldier of the Year."

He walked away from the competition with the title and the Massachusetts Bow Award, which has a bow and two arrows, as described by Klay. Next up is the regional competition in May. There’s no bonus associated with the honor of winning the competition, other than the knowledge of one’s triumph and the addition of the honor on one’s resume.

"It just looks really good in both the civilian world and the military world," Klay said, adding that there was some "stiff" competition. "There are a lot of good soldiers in the National Guard and they were all chosen by their command to do the same things I was doing. Yes, there was difficult competition."

Klay signed a six-year contract with the National Guard. He still has two years to go and has yet to decide if he wants to stay in the military beyond that. He said leaving the Guard would be a difficult choice to make.

"My military career is one of the things I’m most proud of," he said. "In life it ranks up there. It’s a nice accomplishment to have gone this far."