FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, in conjunction with the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, announced the winners of the 2024 TRADOC Best Squad and Best Warrior Competition, during a ceremony held Aug. 19, 2024, at Fort Leonard Wood’s John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex.
Prior to announcing MSCoE’s squad, squad 6, had earned the title of 2024 TRADOC Best Squad, TRADOC Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Harris told the attendees how impressed he was by the eight squads competing.
“The Soldiers and leaders in TRADOC never cease to amaze me. Their professionalism, proficiency and grit are unmatched,” Harris said. “Whether they are drill sergeants, instructors or cadre, they are training and influencing the next generation of Soldiers and NCOs in the Army. Gen. Brito and I are so proud of the competing squads, but in a competition, there can be only one winner.”
MSCoE’s squad, consisting of Squad Leader Staff Sgt. Brandon Ratliff, Staff Sgt. Dallas Simmons, Spc. Andrew Burgess, Pfc. Daniel Cruz Perez and Pfc. River Merrifield truly represented MSCoE with a blend of military occupational specialties from the center of excellence’s three school houses — Engineer; Military Police; and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear schools.
Ratliff said the squad’s hard work and preparation for the competition paid off, adding he was proud of them from the start.
“What they had to do to even make it to the TRADOC level — I was proud,” he said. “And then, to push past all the pain and keep pushing so we could take the victory was truly inspiring.”
He said at every event, the team gave it their all.
“They gave it their all each and every day, no matter how tired they were, how hungry they were, we pushed each other to the end,” Ratliff said.
Following up in second place was squad 5 with the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Moore, Georgia, consisting of Sgt. Jadin Vilaysack, Spc. Jacob Arrington, Spc. Ezrathomas Charfauros, Spc. Gideon Kabatt and Spc. Michael Massey.
Finishing in third place was squad 7 with the with Medical Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, consisting of Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Manley, Sgt. Sean Bailey, Spc. Conner Pilcher, Spc. Matthew Wakefield and Spc. Evan Lehoux.
MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Arzabala, host of the competition, commended all squads for pushing through Missouri’s rugged terrain and extreme weather changes.
“What I saw this week with all these competitors has been enlightening and motivating,” he said. “They went out there, they put it to the test, and they left it all out there — they kept going.”
Prior to the competition starting on Aug. 10, Arzabala promised to test their will and ensure they met the MSCoE commanding general’s vision of having competitors leave better and stronger Soldiers than when they arrived.
“Although your visit will be short, you will be exposed to tough and realistic training, challenging each and every one of you to your core,” he said. “The competition is focused on mastering the basics and reinforcing cohesive, disciplined and fit squads.”
He commended the squads for making it to the TRADOC level.
“You have been tried and tested, rising to the challenge at brigades and installations across TRADOC,” Arzabala said. “You are the few, the few chosen to accept the challenge to get outside of your comfort zone — to sweat, to endure the pain, to immerse yourself in study material and to rejoice in the moments of victories.”
In addition to announcing the winning squad, the command sergeants major awarded the title of TRADOC NCO of the Year to MSCoE’s Simmons, and TRADOC Soldier of the Year to MCoE’s Massey.
Simmons credits his success to hard work and his squad. He said he had an “excellent NCO, coach, mentor and leader” with Ratliff as their squad leader.
“It’s a surreal experience winning,” he said. “Knowing my hard work has paid off — extra training, physical fitness and conditioning — I push myself when I can and knowing I pushed myself this hard, feels rewarding. My squad 100% helped me, from the lowest ranking member to the highest. We all push each other in areas that we lack or struggle in.”
He talked about the support NCOs gave to each other throughout the competition.
“All competitors were very professional NCOs,” Simmons said. “We helped one another whether we were from the same squad or not. It just goes to show you all different MOSs can work together.”
The extensive planning by the MSCoE team tasked with developing this year’s competition not only challenged competitors on a squad level with physical assessments, various weapons system qualifications, field craft and squad maneuver tactics — but also tested the individual squad members by running them through Expert Infantry, Soldier and Field Medical badge tasks, as well as the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge.
Out of the 40 Soldiers within the eight squads, five earned the GAFPB.
The Silver Award was earned by Simmons with MSCoE, and Massey with MCoE. The Bronze Award was earned by Staff Sgt. Harry Ruehlman with the Intelligence Center of Excellence at Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Spc. David Carver, Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Novosel, Alabama; and Merrifield with MSCoE.
As part of his training routine for the upcoming TRADOC Drill Sergeant of the Year Competition in September, Fort Leonard Wood’s Drill Sergeant of the Year Staff Sgt. Samuel Matlock participated in the ESB and GAFPB portions. He earned the Expert Soldier Badge as well as the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge - Silver Award.
The MSCoE squad will go on to represent TRADOC, as well as Fort Leonard Wood, as they go on to compete in the All-Army Best Squad Competition, scheduled to begin Sept. 29 at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
Additional photos of the MSCoE squad can be found on Flickr. Photos and video of all squads can be found on DVIDS.
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