A five-member team from the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade earned top honors at this year’s U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) Best Squad Competition, held April 5–10 at Fort Walker, Virginia. Competing against 11 other INSCOM major subordinate command teams from across the globe, the Soldiers demonstrated a rare combination of cohesion, grit and adaptability.
The team representing the 704th MI Brigade consisted of signals intelligence analysts Staff Sgt. Seth Johnson, Spc. Jerome Shoecraft and Spc. Samuel Reeder, and information technology specialists Sgt. Treyton Russell and Spc. Danya Cherry.
At the beginning of the competition, INSCOM Command Sgt. Maj. Tony Rangel III informed the squads to remember the Army values that guide us: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.
Prior to announcing the winning squad, Rangel thanked the competitors for striving for excellence.
"You remind us all of what it means to push to our limits, to lead from the front, and to trust in your team," Rangel said. "We will never fight alone. It takes a team of teams to fight today’s battles during competition and crisis. In our Profession of Arms, it starts with standards and discipline and warfighting skills."
The winning squad was originally comprised of members from the 741st MI Battalion, but two of the original members were injured, prompting replacements from Charlie Company, 742nd MI Battalion.
“I’ve known them from last year. Super solid Soldiers and NCOs,” said Johnson, the team’s squad leader. “(The replacement Soldiers) stepped up and filled in those spots for us.”
Forged by Challenge
The squad faced a gauntlet of physical and mental trials, including the Army Combat Fitness Test, Situational Training Exercises, warrior tasks, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) lanes and live-fire marksmanship events. They fired everything from the M4 carbine to the M320 grenade launcher under the pressure of simulated combat conditions—and heavy rain.
“One of the biggest challenges was visibility,” Johnson said. “There was consistent heavy rain on marksmanship day. We had trouble picking out the 300-meter targets. Nobody was ready for all the twists and turns."
The squad noted that the competition's cadre reacted fantastically and prepared everyone for a fair fight, even while squads dealt with torrential sheets of rain during an M4 range.”
“The entire squad put everything they had on the line”, said Reeder.
The Road to Readiness
Team cohesion proved critical. Weekly training sessions emphasized long-distance weighted runs, tactical movement and weapons familiarization.
“We weren’t just running,” said Cherry. “We did some runs for distance, maybe like four or five miles, with the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) on too, and then we have kettlebells, weighted balls and weighted plates.”
The foundation of hard work was a key factor in their success.
“We did about two-a-days the entire time,” said Shoemaker. “In the morning, we did cardio, and in the afternoon, we had a prescribed workout plan. Every Friday, we were all together doing Situational Training Exercise simulations, weapon familiarization, and going out to lunch and trying to build a team in that respect.”
Supporting one another during various challenges was essential to maintain motivation and the will necessary to persevere.
“We all hit our limits at different points”, said Russell. “It was easier for us to motivate each other throughout, because if one of us was down, the others could hype them up and keep their head in the game.”
Support MOS, Combat Mindset
Though the Soldiers hailed from support military occupation specialties (MOS), they trained and performed with the mindset of frontline combat arms.
“We were definitely the most effective squad due to our support”, said Johnson. “The reason it was absolute domination in the Situational Training Exercise compared to the other teams was because we have Soldiers in our midst that are prior infantry, prior mortar men, prior forward observers, and we called upon their experience in terms of training and building a cohesive squad at base level infantry tactics.”
Their training schedule was rigorous—four days a week plus all-day Friday battle drills at the battalion level. Johnson credited the command team and battalion leadership for enabling consistent participation.
Looking Ahead
The team’s success at Fort Walker qualified them for the next level: the Military District of Washington (MDW) competition. They are not resting on past accomplishments.
There will be a significant change to our approach, said Johnson. “A lot of our initial training was getting used to the type of durability required to move long distances with weight consistently, without incurring significant injuries. These guys have that now. Now we are moving in to increasing volume. More time doing slow, long distance runs, trying to push everybody towards getting to 20, 30 mile running weeks.”
The team compared preparing for the MDW competition as preparing for a marathon, stating the difference between winning and losing is being strong enough and comfortable with increased loads, and doing it over, and over again.
“Our goal is to perform at the same level again—no excuses,” Johnson said.
Cherry reflected on what it took to succeed.
“There’s a quote: ‘You don’t rise to the level of expectations or the competition. You fall to the level of your training,’ Cherry said. "That’s what got us here.”
The brigade's commander and command sergeant major couldn't be more proud of the squad as they prepare for the next level competition.
"The 704th MI Brigade Soldiers absolutely crushed the INSCOM Best Squad Competition, and we couldn't be more proud,” said Col. Yesenia Garcia, commander of the 704th MI Brigade. “This win is a testament to their raw grit, unwavering discipline, and the kind of rock-solid cohesion that defines our formation."
"As they gear up to dominate the Military District of Washington competition, they carry our full confidence and the lethal legacy of excellence expected from every Soldier in this Brigade," added Command Sgt. Maj. Royal C. Becerra.
As the Army continues to prioritize lethality and readiness, this squad proves that well-trained, unified intelligence Soldiers aren’t just combat-capable, they're setting the standard for excellence across the force.
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