CUMBERLAND - Christopher Dignan's faith helped lead him to join the U.S. Army Reserves. His dedication and work ethic earned him the right to represent his unit in the Army's annual Best Warrior Competition.

And while he was eliminated in the early days of the four-day competition at Fort McCoy, Wis., it is his determination to excel that has him training already for next year's event.

Dignan, 20, of LaVale and a soldier in the 372nd Military Police Company in Cresaptown, failed to execute a sufficient number of sit-ups properly during an Army Physical Fitness Test. Expecting the event to be a "cakewalk" - he had never before failed any portion of the test in nearly two years of service - the result "shocked" Dignan.

"I never came close to failing one," Dignan said. "I was pretty upset about it."

The elimination doesn't overshadow how he earned his way to Wisconsin, however. Dignan first had to represent his unit in the 11th Military Police Brigade competition, which he won. He also won the 99th Regional Readiness Command competition.

"He's a hard-charging soldier," said 1st Sgt. David Twigg of the 372nd MP Company. "He's always volunteering for the toughest missions. He's in top shape."

Twigg described the competition as a "rigorous" event, one which includes an oral board examination in front of high-ranking non-commissioned officers, six-mile runs in battle gear and a rucksack, land navigation, a firearms qualification range and "warrior tasks and training skills" including first aid and communications.

Those skills will likely be necessary on a deployment, something that could be on the horizon for the 372nd. Reserve units are on a six-year deployment rotation and the 103-member unit has not gone overseas since 2003. Twigg said the unit has not received notification of being deployed, but about 25 soldiers are deployed or preparing to deploy while attached to other units.

Dignan, for his part, is ready to travel and do his duty. Precombat tasks are being checked off and new equipment is being issued. Serving one's country is the honorable thing to do, he said.

"I've grown up to honor my parents," Dignan said. "You go to a Third-World country, it's horrible. I feel a sense of honor serving my country, for being able to live in this kind of freedom.

"I don't know if our unit's being deployed next year or not," said Dignan, noting the unit's training calendar hadn't been completed past February 2009.

Twigg said Dignan's a "lifer" for the National Guard - "he's going to stay in until he retires" - and has put in his "fast track" promotion packet for sergeant, the first level of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps, which should be approved this summer. Dignan's already getting ready for next year's competition, in which he plans to compete as a non-commissioned officer.

"I try to be the best soldier that I can," Dignan said. "I do what I'm told. I like to take things head-on. Even though I'm not at the non-commissioned officer level, I try to be involved. I'm starting to teach newer privates coming into our unit right from wrong."

Dignan is a 2006 graduate of Allegany High School and is working toward a degree in sociology at Allegany College of Maryland. He works at UPS in Cumberland, filling the famous brown delivery trucks before they head off on their routes for the day.

He is the son of Ed Dignan of LaVale and Dee Long of Rawlings, and has several aunts, uncles and cousins in the area.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.