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Graduate named Soldier of the Year for Virginia Army National Guard

Editor’s Note: Throughout the summer, Liberty News will shine the spotlight on members of the Class of 2020. As seniors, this class had the exciting privilege of leading Liberty into a new decade — and then met the challenge of completing their degree during a pandemic. Through it all, they have made us proud. They are marching onward as true Champions for Christ, entering their chosen fields equipped to be world-changers with a renewed hope for the future.

Congratulations Class of 2020!  #LU2020 #LUGrads


Braxton Todd (’20)

Liberty University proved to be the perfect training ground for Braxton Todd (’20) to become the 2020 Virginia Army National Guard Soldier of the Year after winning the “Best Warrior” competition at Fort Pickett near Blackstone, Va., last month.

Postponed from March 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition tested the soldiers and non-commissioned officers both mentally and physically through a written examination, the Army Combat Fitness Test, an appearance board, and an Iron Warrior course, which combined M4 rifle, M9 pistol, and M500 shotgun proficiency with other fitness challenges.

Todd, who graduated in May with an interdisciplinary studies degree focusing primarily on biology, Chinese and French, will start classes in Liberty’s School of Law on Monday. He enlisted in the National Guard as a freshman, based out of Rocky Mount, Va., with the 229th Chemical Company, and was recently transferred to the 29th Infantry Division in Fort Belvoir, Va.

“When I came to Liberty, I would go run at the mountain range almost every day after classes,” Todd said of the Liberty Mountain Trail System, which offers more than 50 miles of trails spanning over 3,500 acres. “That is a great workout because you have to run up and down, with steep elevation gain and loss, and it is really beautiful, too.”

Spc. Braxton Todd trained on the Liberty Mountain Trail System for the running sections of the ‘Best Warrior’ competition.

He also enjoyed working out at the LaHaye Recreation & Fitness Center, often joining friends from Liberty’s Army ROTC Eagle Battalion in weight training sessions three to four times per week during the month leading up to the “Best Warrior” competition. And he benefitted from years of training on rifle, pistol, and shotgun ranges at the Liberty Mountain Gun Club.

“When I got to the competition, I was so thankful for my four years at Liberty where I could go to the Gun Club, which has the same targets set up on the pistol range and skeet shooting that lined up perfectly for what I experienced at the competition,” Todd said.

Todd was one of eight representatives from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to advance to the Region II “Best Warrior” competition, held July 28-31 in Aberdeen, Md., but missed the qualifying cut for nationals.

Spc. Braxton Todd trained on the Liberty Mountain Trail System for the running sections of the ‘Best Warrior’ competition.

“I’m super thankful for the opportunity God’s given me to have been trained by great parents and great non-commissioned officers all through my life and to be given that chance to display what I’ve learned,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I wanted to honor God in the hard work that I did, working for the military as I did for Him.”

The oldest of four children of Carrie and Barrett Todd, Braxton attended Liberty on the Missionary Kid Scholarship along with his sister Abagail, a rising junior at Liberty. Their father is a former football player at the University of Maryland and the founder of the Sport Disciple ministry in Haiti. Their parents dedicated their lives to Christ a year before moving from Minnesota to Haiti in 2012.

“They realized that they had a hole in their lives that only Jesus could fill,” Todd said. “He is the only One that could forgive them of their sins, and they followed Him with everything they have.”

Todd plans to use his law degree to battle abortion and sex trafficking and promote adoption.

“I believe abortion is the great holocaust of our time. I would love to get a group of lawyers together who are passionate about stopping abortion and providing adoptions for free. I want to change the law if I can, but I would much rather change peoples’ hearts.”

Spc. Todd is awarded Virginia National Guard Soldier of the Year honors on July 11.

“I have a couple good friends who have dedicated their lives to combatting sex trafficking, and I would love to be a source of free legal aid to them in that cause, too” he added.

Todd said God has used Liberty to strengthen his faith and convictions. After listening to a sermon by Francis Chan, Todd realized that for years he had been wearing his parents’ faith as a lifejacket and that he started to sink after he was removed from them.

“I found that there is such a beautiful network of people who genuinely know Jesus here,” he said of students, faculty, and staff at Liberty. “That’s when my relationship really took off, and I began to know Him as my Savior and Lord.”

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