Photo By Spc. Adrian Greenwood | U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command Sgt. Maj. Jeremiah E. Inman (center), posed for a...... read more read more
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GRAFENWOHR, GERMANY - The 2023 iteration of the European-African Command Best Squad Competition was hosted by V Corps from July 27 to Aug 4 at Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels, Germany.
The annual competition featured eight squads, composed of 40 soldiers across seven different units. The units represented this year include the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 7th Army Training Command, 18th Military Police Brigade, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 30th Medical Brigade and two squads from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
“My squad took part in our battalion’s Best Squad Competition and we won, so we had the opportunity to come up here for this one and bond during it as well, building good chemistry together,” states Spc. DeQuan Washington, combat medic from the 30th Medical Brigade.
Each squad must participate in a wide variety of events including the Army Combat Fitness Test, live fire ranges, medical lanes, land navigation, call for fire, a 12-mile ruck march and many more. Soldiers are graded based on their squad’s average score through all events with the winner moving on to the U.S. Army Best Squad Competition held on Fort Lee, Virginia next year.
With winning the objective in mind, the path to achieve victory weighs on the competitors.
“Heart and dedication is what it takes to win,” said Sgt. Nathan Lane, combat medic from the 30th Medical Brigade.
In addition to that objective, the ultimate goal of the Best Squad Competition is to improve the readiness and lethality of U.S. Soldiers in all warrior tasks and battle drills.
Inclement weather ushered in with the arriving units. This set the tone for a long, tough week in the field. The competition challenges their physical and mental stamina, demanding exceptional performances from each competitor and their squad at the highest level.
“It’s a mental and physical game,” said Washington. “You have to push through and stay out of the mindset of "I can’t do this.”
Many events are designed to give a comprehensive understanding of specific tasks such as tactical casualty care and completing full functions checks of small arms weapons. Several squads took the opportunity to hone skills they do not usually utilize for their regular Army jobs, creating a different learning environment for themselves.
“As a medical unit, our squad has learned the most about weapons and infantry-style tasks,” Lane commented.
Over the course of the competition, physical and mental strain begins setting in and affecting a squad’s interoperability and fighting effectiveness. How a squad reacts to these challenges and comes together as a unit is a monumental aspect in which the graders of the competition observe when tallying the daily scoreboard.
Despite the intentionally tough circumstances, the soldiers found many positive take-aways from the experience.
“I enjoy training soldiers, being with soldiers and having that comradery. I’ve really enjoyed the experience,” Lane reflects.
“To win this competition it takes a lot of communication, teamwork, mental fortitude and physical endurance. It’s all very challenging and the experience has meant a lot to me,” Washington emphasized. “Sometimes you’re not always going to perform the way you would like to, and even if you don’t, take that as a learning experience and be glad to have gone through something like that.”
After the final day of events, which included an obstacle course and a squad board, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment emerged victorious. The unit was represented by squad leader Staff Sgt. Ryan Cardiff, Sgt. Andrew Rodriguez, Spc. Brian Rivera, Spc. Andrew Groft and Pfc. David Doucette. Each soldier received their awards presented by Command Sgt. Maj. Jeremiah E. Inman, command sergeant major for USAREUR-AF, including the Army Commendation Medal.
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.07.2023 09:01 |
| Story ID: | 450764 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 237 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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