FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 13, 2015) -- The six-man scout squad, from 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, out of Vilseck, Germany, took the title of the 2015 William J. (Joe) Gainey Cup Best Scout Squad.
Staff Sgt. Kyle Cooper, Sgt. Cesar Cavazos, Spc. Glen Gianello, Spc. Joshua Castro, Pfc. Justin Cope and Pfc. Daniel Casillas out competed the other 18 teams.
"It feels great, we worked really hard, the Soldiers trained a lot, so it feels really good," said Cooper, platoon leader, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. "We started [training] with basic Soldier tasks and worked our way up from there. Every Soldier on this team had their own strength and their own weakness and we played to that very well."
Cooper said a key task in preparing for the competition was enforcing the cohesion within his team.
The squad received the honor to hold the Gainey Cup trophy until the 2017 competition and a Gainey Cup streamer - authorized to display on their company guideon. Additionally, each member received a one-year membership to the Cavalry and Armor Association, membership in the Order of Saint George, a set of spurs, a miniature Gainey Cup trophy, a Spyderco knife and an 1860 black powder cap and ball revolver.
"What we tried to do in the 2015 Gainey Cup was to find the best scout squad in our Army, and in this case, fundamental scout skills," said Brig. Gen. Scott McKean, 49th chief of Armor. "It was done in the legacy and the spirit of [retired] Command Sgt. Maj. Joe Gainey. [Gainey] was a scout, but more than that, he was a leader, he was a master of the fundamentals, and he understood the importance of training Soldiers to do their missions because he knew that is what would keep Soldiers alive in battle, and that's what would successfully accomplish the mission."
Command Sgt. Maj. James Westover, brigade command sergeant major, 316th Cavalry Brigade, said the winner of the competition came down to the last event - the Final Charge.
"Literally, those top three [teams] could have come out any way," Westover said. "It was amazing it turned out to where the top three were so close together. The last event was the deciding factor."
The second place squad, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, consisted of Staff Sgt. Jesse Vincent, Sgt. Jesus Consuegra, Sgt. Nicholas Hagstrom, Spc. Steven Smith, Spc. Raymond Heenan and Spc. Nathan Nichols. They received a Stetson, a saber, and a set of spurs.
The third place squad was 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Dvision, Fort Stewart, Georgia, and included 1st Lt. Nathan Schwartzbauer, Pfc. Steven Taylor, Sgt. Robert Montavon, Spc. Robby Paz, Spc. Brandon Whitley and Pfc. Cesar DeLeon. They were awarded a scout statue and set of spurs.
All teams received a certificate of achievement from the chief of Armor, a Gainey Cup belt buckle and coin, a set of eye-protective gear, a Gainey Cup print and an Armor branch 75th anniversary print.
The only international team to compete, the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School squad, placed in the top 10. Their commander was proud to have had his soldiers compete alongside the U.S. troops.
"We've been on battlefields together," said Col. John Andrews, commander, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School, Canada. "It is amazing that we could come together in a good, spirited, friendly competition."
Gainey walked with scout squads through every step of the competition, and his expectations of the Soldiers was met by the end of the competition.
"I asked you day one to do something simple for me, I asked you to give it your all. Don't worry about being number one, be the best that you can be," said Gainey, with the crowd of competitors responding "Hooah." "And, I asked you to move forward and not to quit, you remember that?"
The crowd again responded, "Hooah."
"Mission complete," Gainey said. "You guys have really blown it out of the park, and ... you have done me, and yourselves, and the Army and the Canadian military a great honor."
The winning squad emphasized teamwork as an important factor that aided in their success, among many other things.
"The mental aspect is very important - you must be able to articulate what you're seeing on the battlefield and think quickly and react in order to give the commander the best chance to make a good decision," Cooper said. "This experience will help a lot [in stress or combat], especially with the younger Soldiers standing behind me today; these are the future leaders of the Army, so with them going through this situation at such an early stage in their career, that's really going to develop the Army."
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