FORT STEWART, Ga. - Twelve squads from across the Army completed the first phase of the 2nd annual U.S. Army Best Squad Competition, at Fort Stewart, Georgia, Sept. 25-Oct. 5th, 2023. The nine-day competition assessed each squad on their technical and tactical proficiency, as well as their ability to work as a disciplined and cohesive team.
Each squad represented higher commands from across the Army: U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa, U.S. Army Pacific, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, U.S. Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army Cyber Command, U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Futures Command, U.S. Army Materiel Command and U.S. Army Military District of Washington.
The competition featured several different fitness and combat related events ranging from the Army Combat Fitness Test and various weapons lanes, to a strenuous 12-mile foot march and detailed individual warrior tasks and squad battle drills all while traversing through the austere 200,000-plus acres of training area at Fort Stewart.
Although the competition lasted only ten days, each squad underwent weeks, and in some cases, as much as a year of preparation to be ready for these events. Every squad has conquered challenges to get here, completing training, beating other squads at lower echelons and traveling from distant places such as Alaska and Germany to make it here.
“Throughout these past few months, we’ve been going through a pretty tough train-up … really finding the fine tuning of working hard, yet getting good recovery. Putting in the long extra hours is not something that everybody wants to do, but is something that my whole squad did,” said Staff Sgt. Andre Ewing, a member of the squad representing U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
The best squad sets the example for all other squads to follow. It is not enough to excel in only one skill area. Combat readiness is achieved when squads excel together in Military Occupational Speciality (MOS) -related duties and all battle drills. The BSC was designed to put competitors to the test with teamwork being the only way to succeed.
“This is not an individual sport,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Reffeor, senior enlisted advisor of 3rd Infantry Division. “These squads are successful based on their ability to work together. One might be good at land navigation, and one might be very good at medical, but at the end of the day, they have to work together as a squad.”
Each squad was tested through adversity. The ability to adapt and overcome in unpredictable situations was a key element of evaluation for each squad. The challenges were standard tests of technical and tactical proficiency, but with an element of stressful unpredictability added to it. The squads were evaluated on their ability to plan with only minimal details given for their next assignments, forcing them to think on their feet.
“We were left in the dark, and had to make plans on the fly,” said Spc. Caden McCandless, a member of the squad representing U.S. Army Cyber Command.
In addition to being given limited planning ability, the squads frequently conducted training exercises under cover of darkness. Night time exercises included urban intelligence gathering, two tactical water crossings and reacting to indirect fire. The unrelenting pace was turbulent, and the environment was chaotic, but there was little room for error.
No single day for the squads was typical. For example, on day six, squads prepared for movement to a land navigation area at dawn, ruck marched over a dozen miles in many cases to find all of their points, reached the end point only to perform a tactical water crossing, and moved from the water crossing directly into an urban intelligence gathering event, all in one day. Resilience was required from each squad to continue to press on through the competition in spite of the lack of rest.
“Physical stamina is a big takeaway for these squads… as they go through and become fatigued, the problem solving will become a lot harder,” said 1st Sgt. Jasse Maltba, an evaluator of the Best Squad Competition from 3rd Infantry Division.
Many of the squad members noted there was a lot of rucking during the competition. With the rucking and vehicle movement combined, the squads traveled more than 100 miles by the end of the competition.
“The real challenge comes from being in this austere environment where you’re not eating as much, nor sleeping as much. It levels the playing field to see who you become in these types of conditions”, said Staff Sgt. Emerson Bradley, representing the Military District of Washington.
Being placed under stress and given limited time to eat, sleep, and plan forced the squads to solve problems under pressure and carry their burdens as a team. How well the squads work together was demonstrated and evaluated at every event. The event was designed so that no team could win based on the merit of any individual Soldier. In order to succeed, squads would have to work together and rely on each other.
Every squad member learned something different throughout the competition. Spc. Axxel Pasos, a member of the squad representing U.S. Army Medical Command, said he learned to always verify and measure twice, but cut once. Other Soldiers, such as Sgt. Everett Bettencourt, a member of the squad representing U.S. Army Cyber Command, said they have learned to have faith in their fellow teammates.
“It is important to be patient and take a tactical pause when placed under stress to ensure proper execution,” said Sgt. Jake Phillips, a member of the squad representing U.S. Army Special Operations Command, about how to work as a team.
Soldiers emphasized that the lessons learned throughout the competition represents newfound knowledge and that they can now carry with them throughout their career. These lessons can be taken back to their units and passed on to future competitors.
The BSC implemented individual evaluations into the first several days of the event to allow competitors the opportunity to earn their respective Expert Infantry Badge, Expert Soldier Badge and Expert Field Medical Badge.
“Having the opportunity to learn these cool things we don’t normally get to do and bring it back to our units means a lot”, said Spc. Samuel Thompson of Army Materiel Command.
The majority of Army Soldiers reside at the squad level, making squad leadership vitally important to the Army’s ability to accomplish missions. Tests like the Best Squad Competition are a benchmark for testing squad combat readiness and excellence under duress.
“The Best Squad competition displays what it means to be brilliant at the basics and seek excellence. These teams are cohesive, highly-trained, physically fit and disciplined; and this is what it looks like to be a warfighter,” said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer.
After having completed this portion of the competition, the squads travel to Washington, D.C. to complete board-style interviews in front of top Army leaders. The winner of the BSC will be announced at the 2023 Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition Oct. 9.
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