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Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Morgan, 264th Medical Battalion combat medic, checks the status of his manikin’s medical needs during the litter obstacle course event for the U.S. Army U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence 2026 Best of the Best competition at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, Sept. 2, 2026. Throughout the course Morgan and fellow competitors had to check on their manikins showing their proficiency in their medical abilities while navigating physically and mentally exhausting obstacles. (U.S. Air Force photo by Joshua J. Garcia)
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U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence names it's Best Team in a ceremony Sept. 3, 2026 on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. From left: Cpt. Zachary Short and Staff Sgt. Alexander Morgan, from the 232d Medical Battalion and 264th Medical Battalion, respectively. These Soldiers earned their places as the MEDCoE Best Medics after a grueling three-day competition. They will go on to compete in the U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark, Jr. Best Squad competition early in 2027. U.S. Army photo by Bryan Lunn.
(Photo Credit: Bryan Lunn)View original3 / 16
U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence names it's Best Squad in a ceremony Sept. 3, 2026 on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. From left: Squad leader and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year: Staff Sgt. Thomas Asher from the 264th Medical Battalion, Sgt. Timothy Weaver from the 32d Medical Brigade Training Support Company, Soldier of the Year, Spc. Isaiah Huber, Spc. from the 32d Medical Brigade TSC, and Spc. Timond Brown and Spc. Justin Delucca both from the 32d Medial Brigade TSC. These Soldiers earned their places on the MEDCoE Best Squad after a grueling three-day competition. The squad will go on to compete in the Training and Transformation Command Best Squad competition in Spring 2027. U.S. Army photo by Bryan Lunn.
(Photo Credit: Bryan Lunn)View original4 / 16
U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence names it's Best Medic and Best Squad teams in a ceremony Sept. 3, 2026 on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. From left: MEDCoE chief of staff, Col. Aristotle Vaseliades, Best Medics Capt. Zachary Short, Best Squad Staff Sgt. Alexander Morgan, Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Staff Sgt. Thomas Asher, Sgt. Timothy Weaver, Spc. Isaiah Huber, Soldier of the Year, Spc. Timond Brown, Spc. Justin Delucca, and MEDCoE command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Jesus Gonzalez. These Soldiers earned their places on the MEDCoE Best Medic and Best Squad teams after a grueling three-day competition. They will each go on to compete in their respective competitions, Army Best Medic and the Training and Transformation Command Best Squad competition in 2027. U.S. Army photo by Bryan Lunn.
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U.S. Army Spc. Justin Delucca, 32d Medical Brigade Training Support Company, emerges from the water during the Combat Water Survival Test portion of the Medical Center of Excellence Best of the Best Competition on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Aug. 31, 2026. The MEDCoE Best Squad and Best Medic teams will be selected from the top competitors. The competition seeks to demonstrate the strength, adaptability, and readiness of MEDCoE Soldiers in a variety of austere environments through a series of medical and Soldier tasks and challenges that provide appropriate rigor, resilience and realism. (U.S. Air Force photo by Zelideth Rodriguez)
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Army Spc. Isaiah Huber, 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company combat medic, climbs under a wooden beam during the obstacle course event for the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence 2026 Best of the Best competition at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, Sept. 2, 2026. To complete the obstacle, competitors had to a traverse inclining and declining wooden posts by alternating between going over and under them. (U.S. Air Force photo by Joshua J. Garcia)
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U.S. Army Sgt. Timothy Weaver, 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company treads water while holding a training weapon in Combat Water Survival Test portion of the Medical Center of Excellence Best of the Best Competition on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Aug. 31, 2026. The MEDCoE Best Squad and Best Medic teams will be selected from the top competitors. The competition seeks to demonstrate the strength, adaptability, and readiness of MEDCoE Soldiers in a variety of austere environments through a series of medical and Soldier tasks and challenges that provide appropriate rigor, resilience and realism. (U.S. Air Force photo by Zelideth Rodriguez)
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U.S. Army Cpt. Zachary Short, 187th Medical Battalion, swims in the Combat Water Survival Test portion of the Medical Center of Excellence Best of the Best Competition on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Aug. 31, 2026. The MEDCoE Best Squad and Best Medic teams will be selected from the top competitors. The competition seeks to demonstrate the strength, adaptability, and readiness of MEDCoE Soldiers in a variety of austere environments through a series of medical and Soldier tasks and challenges that provide appropriate rigor, resilience and realism. (U.S. Air Force photo by Zelideth Rodriguez)
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Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Asher, 264th Medical Battalion combat medic, reviews his target to zero in his iron sights for an M4 carbine prior to participating in the “Stress Shoot” portion of the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence 2026 Best of the Best competition at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, Sept. 1, 2026. Asher and fellow competitors had 15 rounds of ammunition to zero their iron sights for their rifles to maximize their chance of a higher score throughout the Stress Shoot. The BotB competition is an assessment where competitors are evaluated as an individual and as team members to identify premiere Soldiers in the command. (U.S. Air Force photo by Joshua J. Garcia)
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Army Sgt. Timothy Weaver, from the 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company, is competing in the Best Squad portion of the MEDCoE Best of the Best competition.
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Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Morgan, from the 188th Medical Battalion, is competing in the Best Medic portion of the MEDCoE Best of the Best competition.
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Army Cpt. Zachary Short, from the 187th Medical Battalion, is competing in the Best Medic portion of the MEDCoE Best of the Best competition.
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Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Asher, from the 264th Medical Battalion, is competing in the Best Squad portion of the MEDCoE Best of the Best competition.
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Army Spc. Timond Brown, from the 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company, is competing in the Best Squad portion of the MEDCoE Best of the Best competition.
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Army Spc. Isaiah Huber, from the 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company, is competing in the Best Squad portion of the MEDCoE Best of the Best competition.
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Army Spc. Justin Delucca, from the 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company, is competing in the Best Squad portion of the MEDCoE Best of the Best competition.
(Photo Credit: Erin Perez)View original
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas—In a grueling three-day competition, 25 U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence Soldiers strived to earn the titles of Best Medic, Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Soldier of the Year and Best Squad from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, 2026.
The 2026 MEDCoE Best Medic team members are Cpt. Zachary Short and Staff Sgt. Alexander Morgan, from the 232d Medical Battalion and 264th Medical Battalion, respectively.
The Noncommissioned Officer of the Year and Best Squad team leader is Staff Sgt. Thomas Asher from the 264th Medical Battalion, and the Soldier of the Year is Spc. Isaiah Huber from the 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company. In addition to Asher and Huber, Sgt. Timothy Weaver, Spc. Timond Brown and Spc. Justin Delucca, all from the 32nd Medical Brigade Training Support Company, will represent MEDCoE at the next Best Squad Competition.
During his remarks at the ceremony, Command Sgt. Maj. Jesus Gonzalez, MEDCoE command sergeant major, praised the competitors for their skill, their grit and their attitude during the events.
“You trained hard and overcame obstacles. You demonstrated strength, discipline and the character of a true warrior.”
The competition consisted of a physical fitness assessment, obstacle course and litter obstacle course, combat water survival, warrior tasks and battle drills, health service support lanes, mass casualty care, prolonged field care, day and night land navigation, a 12-mile ruck march, an oral board and written test, a stress-shoot and mystery event. During the competition, competitors split into two tracks, one for Best Medic and the other for Best Squad and came together for the common events.
Col. Aristotle Vaseliades, MEDCoE chief of staff, thanked the staff and cadre who made the competition happen, and reminded everyone that training foundational skills to excellence is what MEDCoE does every day.
“When I think of the best of the best, I think of excellence. I like to use Aristotle’s quote, when you repeatedly do excellence, it’s not an act, but a habit,” said Vaseliades. “I look at some of the things we put you through—foundational skills required of every Soldier in the Army Medical Department… and those foundational skills start here at the CoE [Center of Excellence]. Whether you’re training, teaching the basic officer course, AIT [Advanced Individual Training], no matter what it is, you’re either setting that corner foundation of excellence, or you’re adding to it.”
Short and Morgan will go on to represent MEDCoE in the U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark, Jr. Best Medic Competition in February 2027. The upcoming competition will include the Army National Guard, Army Reserves, and all active Army divisions, separate brigades and Special Forces.
Asher, Weaver, Huber, Brown and Delucca will compete at the second annual U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command’s Best Squad Competition in the spring of 2027. Last year, our squad, including Huber, won the Training and Doctrine Command Best Squad Competition, but in the T2COM competition in May 2026, they took second place. The goal is to represent T2COM at the U.S. Army Best Squad Competition in 2027.
MEDCoE is the Army Medicine proponent responsible for envisioning and designing responsive Army Medicine capabilities and structure that support the fielded force and the future force. MEDCoE is also one of 10 Centers of Excellence aligned under the U.S. Army Combined Arms Command.
To learn more about MEDCoE visit https://medcoe.army.mil/
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