They are tested on appearance, interview knowledge, composure, personality....I’m not sure what else. My soldier has never talked much about it.
He was in South Carolina (I believe) to participate. They had a ball (gala) at which there were high ranking generals to announce the winners. I’ll look on the web and see if I can find anything and report back.
This is what I found:
Twenty of the Army’s top warriors gathered to compete in the annual Department of the Army Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year Competition. In the end only one NCO and one Soldier will walk away with the ultimate bragging rights.
Two warriors from each of the 10 different major Army commands represented nearly one million of their fellow enlisted warriors, when they converged. The six-day competition tested their skill and knowledge against not only themselves and each other but against Army standards as well.
This is one reason I was so highly offended when I was told I denigrate the members of the armed services.