FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — After proving they have what it takes to earn the title, the squad with 1st Engineer Brigade was named the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence’s Best Squad July 12 in a ceremony held in Lincoln Hall Auditorium.
During the ceremony, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Arzabala said he is proud of all the Soldiers who stepped up to represent their regiments in competition.
“Here on this installation we train and this competition was a direct representation of that. Through each exercise these competitors have ensured we have increased our lethality and readiness of our Army,” Arzabala said.
MSCoE’s Best Squad Competition, held July 9 through 11, looks for teams that are highly trained, disciplined, fit and demonstrate commitment to the Army Values and Warrior Ethos.
“We want to be the installation of choice — where everyone leaves better than they arrived,” Arzabala said. “All of these individuals became better by testing themselves each and every day of this competition.”
Sgt. 1st Class Micah Horwood, the noncommissioned officer in charge of plans and operations for MSCoE, coordinated this year’s competition. He said three squads comprised of five Soldiers each were tested on 20 tasks including a non-standard physical fitness event, weapons qualification, day and night land navigation, drill and ceremony and a formal board.
“The 3-day competition assessed each squad on their technical and tactical proficiency, as well as their ability to work as a disciplined and cohesive team. The winning team will represent the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence in the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Best Squad Competition in August,” Horwood said.
Members of the winning squad are Sgt. 1st Class Jason Day, Staff Sgt. Brandon Ratliff, Sgt. Wilfredo Rodriguez, Spc. Andrew Burgees and Pfc. Daniel Cruz, all assigned to various units within the 1st Engineer Brigade.
Ratliff, a drill sergeant with Company B of the 35th Engineer Battalion, said he thinks his team proved superior because they work together, train together and identified each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
“We had tryouts to make the team back in May and started training immediately. We already knew each other and knew how to motivate and push each other when we needed it,” Ratliff said.
The squad will now go on to compete in the TRADOC Best Squad Competition scheduled for August at Fort Leonard Wood.
“This competition was tough, but I am super excited to represent Fort Leonard Wood next month,” Ratliff said. “We know what we need to work on, we need to hit the books, but we will be ready.”
Photos from the competition are available at Fort Leonard Wood’s Flickr page.
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