Russell Adam Burnham (born September 6, 1979), is an American business owner, Physician Assistant and U.S. Army veteran. Burnham was recognized as the 2003 U.S. Army Soldier of the Year, 2007 U.S. Army Medical Corps NCO of the Year, and is an Eagle Scout. He is the great-grandson of Frederick Russell Burnham (1861–1947), recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, and famous American scout and world-traveling adventurer who helped inspire the founding of the international Scouting Movement. Military career Burnham is a retired Army officer who last served as the Senior Medical Advisor Physician Assistant for the 1st Battalion, 3rd Security Forces Assistance Brigade (SFAB) at Fort Hood. As a prior enlisted Soldier, he rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class before receiving a commission in the Army Medical Specialist Corps. He served in both combat and non-combat tours in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom's Sentinel, was decorated with two Bronze Stars, and retired from the Army in 2021 with the rank of Major. U.S. Army Best Warrior Best Warrior is an annual competition overseen by the Department of the Army as a means of identifying and recognizing soldiers in active, Special Operations, National Guard and reserve components of the United States Army. Each year, each participating command sends their best enlisted soldier and non-commissioned officer to Fort Lee to represent their unit. Burnham won the competition in his unit in 2003, and again in 2007. In 2007, Burnham was interviewed by U.S. Army Central and KIMM radio about the significance and components of the Best Warrior competition and about his duties in the Army. U.S. Army Soldier of the Year Burnham was serving as an Evacuation Specialist with HHC, 1/5 Infantry Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington, when he decided to compete in the preliminary competitions for the 2003 Soldier of the Year. After winning his battalion's honor, he went on to win the competition for 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, and later for I Corps and Fort Lewis. He then competed in, and won, the U.S. Army Forces Command Soldier of the Year competition, which afforded him the opportunity to represent the largest command in the Army at the Soldier of the Year competition. Burnham won the competition, consisting of several grueling mental and physical tasks, and was reassigned to Washington, DC to serve as an ambassador for the Army. For the next year,