Photo By Greg Newswanger | Soldiers compete in the Army Futures Command Best Squad Competition June 3-7, 2024, at...... read more read more
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – The U.S. Army Central Command’s (ARCENT) best squad defeated six other teams June 3-7, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in the Army Futures Command Best Squad Competition (AFC BSC).
The winning squad included Staff Sgt. Renato Hernandez, Staff Sgt. Tyler Needham, Sgt. Keenan Baxter, Spc. Peyton Martin, and Spc. Dailene West.
The other squads represented included U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), U.S. Army North (ARNORTH), U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH), U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), Futures and Concepts Center (FCC), and U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (MRDC).
Staff Sgt. Raycel Dasher, ARSOUTH, was selected as the individual Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, and Spc. Peyton Martin, ARCENT, was selected as the individual Soldier of the Year.
Over the week, the squads competed in a 12-mile foot march, M4 carbine qualification, a stress shoot event, an Army Combat Fitness Test, situational tactical exercise lanes, day and night land navigation, an obstacle course, a physical fitness circuit, a 100-question multiple choice exam, and an oral board chaired by AFC Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Hester.
According to Hester, the AFC BSC aimed to build cohesiveness and team building.
“From my perspective, what these competitions should do is build readiness, they should develop camaraderie, and they should be about taking care of each other,” he said. “They’re also about the development of leaders, because every one of these competitors are going to continue being leaders in our Army.”
Additionally, Hester expressed his gratitude for all the competitors’ efforts.
“I’m very proud of all of the competitors, and I just want to stress my thanks to each of them,” Hester said. “They didn’t have to do this; they chose to do this. Maybe they were motivated by a leader in their formation, but ultimately, they made the decision they were going to do something challenging, and I think they all did that very well.”
The ARCENT squad will move on to the U.S. Army’s best squad competition held later this year in the fall.
The squad from ATEC included Staff Sgt. Anfernee Kelly, Staff Sgt. Derek Pattle, Sgt. Dakota Hutton, Cpl. Christian Ramirez, and Spc. Jesse Seman.
The squad from ARNORTH included Staff Sgt. Heather Kygoski, Sgt. Ty Smith, Sgt. Corey White, Spc. Julyen Zamora, and Pfc. Xavier Maxwell.
The squad from ARSOUTH included Staff Sgt. Raycel Dasher, Staff Sgt. Benjamin Klontz, Staff Sgt. Nathan Riddle, Sgt. Kevin Acosta, and Pfc. Matthew Nelson.
The squad from DEVCOM included Sgt. 1st Class Gabriel Gonzalez, Staff Sgt. Christopher Miller, Sgt. Joseph Weiss, and Sgt. John Vu.
The squad from FCC included Sgt. 1st Class Braxton Hunt, Staff Sgt. Derek Alcorn, Staff Sgt. Mark Blue, Staff Sgt. David Fausz, and Staff Sgt. Kyle Mcguigan.
The squad from MRDC included Sgt. 1st Class David Haugh, Sgt. Nathan Sosa, Cpl. Anthony Goclowski, Cpl. Jacob Masecampo, and Spc. Luis Pintor.
The ATEC, ARCENT, ARNORTH and ARSOUTH squads competed in the AFC BSC due to not directly falling within the four Army Major Commands.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2024 08:55 |
| Story ID: | 477324 |
| Location: | ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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