KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Going toe to toe with his enlisted peers, Spc. Kwesi Cook called the opportunity to compete at the Army Best Squad Competition in September “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Cook, a biomedical equipment specialist at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Europe, reflected on the Sept. 11-19 event at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he competed for Army Materiel Command against 10 other squads from throughout the Army.
“I got to compete against the best of the best while also learning and gaining technical knowledge on weapons systems and tactical movements,” Cook said. “It was easily one of the best and most difficult experiences in my Army career.”
Cook qualified for the Army-wide contest via AMC’s competition this past May. Winners of the competition, including Soldier of the Year, NCO of the Year and the Army’s Best Squad, will be announced at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition in October.
Cook said it was an honor to represent USAMMC-E, U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command and its higher headquarters, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, as the five-member squad worked together in tactical, technical and physical assessments.
The multi-day event featured a variety of fitness and combat-related scenarios designed to evaluate the squads on their collective ability to operate as a disciplined and cohesive team. Competitors navigated physical fitness assessments, weapons lanes, a foot march, individual warrior tasks and squad battle drills, in addition to a board interview testing their military knowledge and professionalism.
To prepare for the demanding schedule, Cook and his teammates underwent intensive preparatory training, focusing on Expert Soldier Badge lanes, day and night land navigation, and military operation order execution.
Cook emphasized that the primary benefit of the competition is the technical and tactical knowledge he can now share with his home station in Germany.
“After many drills and repetitions of E3B lanes, land navigation and executing [operations orders], I can use what I learned to sharpen the already productive Soldiers around me, creating a more lethal force on the big Army level,” Cook said.
By focusing on the post-competition transition, the unit stands to gain a direct return on investment in its overall readiness. Cook noted that the knowledge gained during the training and the event itself is highly transferable to Soldiers of any rank.
“I can teach what I learned to the service members at my unit and strengthen the overall readiness and capabilities of USAMMC-E,” Cook said. “The opportunity and overall experience from this event will stay with me for life, and I would highly recommend other Soldiers strive to compete at the same level when given the chance.”
USAMMC-E, a direct reporting unit to AMLC, serves as a theater lead agent for medical materiel, providing medical logistics to the warfighter and their families for U.S. European and African commands, as well as in support of U.S. Central Command and the Department of State.
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