Photo By Staff Sgt. Angela Parady | Maine Army National Guard Soldier, Sgt. Mark Lake of Stacyville shows Spc. Randy Watts...... read more read more
MAINE - After a year of careful planning the Maine National Guard held the first statewide Best Squad Competition this September. Ten squads representing different units competed in a series of ten events that tested their ability to work as a team, individual and collective fitness, technical and tactical skills, and leadership.
Competitions are known for bringing out the best in groups. While many Maine Soldiers have competed as individuals, this is the first time they have been tested to this extent in small groups, or squads. As training priorities in the National Guard start to make a shift away from overseas deployments and back towards homeland missions, the Maine National Guard is looking to go back to the basics. Through friendly competition, they can develop better Soldiers, and stronger units.
Maine’s command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Hannibal spoke to the 65 Soldiers shortly before the winners were announced. He talked about going back to the basics. Understanding the basics, and using competitive drive to keep moving forward.
“When we started working on this event, we had two goals,” he said. The first, we wanted to develop that unit cohesiveness. Bring the units closer together with things we haven’t done in a long time. I bet everyone here can say that they are a little bit closer to the next guy now, because of this, we brought you together. “
Sgt. Rachel Ellis, an administrative non commissioned officer for the 136th Engineer Company (Vertical) works full time for her unit, but still didn’t know most of the Soldiers in her squad closely. She said that this event not only tested her own individual capabilities, but how her team could work together. In the end she said it brought them together to be stronger as a whole.
“We really focused on helping each other out, understanding our different strengths and weaknesses,” said the Newport native. “We all had some events we were stronger in than others, and that’s where we just learned to lean on one another.”
The event didn’t cater to any specific military occupational skill. Every squad was tested on the same tasks: knot tying, land navigation, a medical event, an obstacle course, vehicle repair, communications, weapons proficiency, a written exam, a tactical road march, and an Army Physical Fitness Test.
“Our unit is made of carpenters, electricians and plumbers,” said Ellis. “We don’t really work with things like the communications systems often. This really showed us some of the newer things we need to learn. We can never stop learning. To be able to come out here and do things we don’t normally do, that’s going to help us a unit going forward.”
The competition, which began at noon on Wednesday, carried Soldiers through the night, keeping busy on the different tasks, before concluding with an awards ceremony Thursday morning.
“I think it was a positive experience,” continued Ellis. “It was fun to compete with the other units. I know next year we will be able to help our guys be more educated on how it works. But the key point is to just do it. Go out and represent and do the best you can, and hopefully you come home with bragging rights. At the least, it helped us develop friendships, and a rapport with people I don’t normally work with.”
U.S. Armed Forces Command command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Schroeder traveled to Maine to see the competition.
“You had a good experience here,” he said. “You can’t teach that. You can’t get experience on a power point. You can’t get experience sitting in a classroom. You have to live it. And things like this, give you experience to build off.”
While recounting the different challenges each of the squads faced in the previous 24 hours, Schroeder redirected the conversation to a serious topic that is on the forefront for many veterans.
“We all have obstacles,” he said. “We have tough things going on in our army. We have obstacles in training, we have obstacles in combat, and everybody has obstacles in their personal lives. Just like yesterday, you can’t always get over them by yourselves. Those people sitting to your left and right, that’s who is going to help you over those obstacles. Think about that, and use these events, and these obstacles to have the courage to ask for help to get you over that wall.”
One squad had to quickly face and overcome obstacles as the events unfolded. Company B, 3rd Battalion, 172d Infantry Division (Mountain) started the event with five Soldiers, instead of the suggested seven member squad. On the first event, their squad leader suffered an injury, and was limited to crutches the rest of the competition. Another Soldier came down with a stomach bug after dinner. The three man squad was still able to finish all of the events, and placed third overall in the event. Spc. Dominic Kelley, an infantry Soldier with Company B was one of the three Soldiers in his squad who finished the last event, a six-mile tactical road march, while carrying a medical sked stretcher.
“It was hard,” he said. “There were definitely times all along that march that we all thought about just putting down that skid, if only for a few minutes. With a larger squad, you can trade off so someone gets a rest break. But there was something about being here that made us all keep going.”
Training together once a month, most Soldiers are used to seeing the same familiar faces every drill weekend. There is a level of comfort in knowing what to expect, but this event took people outside of their comfort zone.
"I am a competitive person, and a lot of my drive comes from that competition,” said Kelley. “So, to see all these other companies, and compete against them it motivates me to get better, and push myself better. I like to motivate others, and I like that motivation, regardless of unit. We all wear the same uniform. This morning, during that ruck, hearing people cheer for us at the end of the march, that helped. Just because we aren’t in the same company, doesn’t mean we don’t all work together and support each other. Just being able to be out here, and get more understanding of how all the different parts work together, the sappers, the communications, the medical role. It opens your eyes to a bigger picture.”
One of the things Kelley was most proud of, was the fact that his squad finished first place on the written exams. While most people expected the infantry Soldiers to do well in the knot tying events and the obstacle course, he was proud of how well they did on all the events.
“Infantry isn’t ‘just infantry’,” he said. “We have to know a little bit of everything. We are often in the thick of it, and you aren’t always going to have that specialty role to help us along. This event helped us see where we are strong, and where we need to focus our efforts. I think it opened our eyes to all the different moving parts of the Army, and how we all come together for common tasks. No one individual can do it all themselves.”
At the end of the day, the 251st Engineer Company (Sapper), took home first place. Staff Sgt. Joshua Way, squad leader, and training NCO for the unit said he thought the event was a success, testing the Soldiers both physically and mentally and making sure everyone is up to date with their basic soldiering skills, while at the same time building camaraderie and teamwork within the units.
“These aren’t things that we do every day,” he said. “It pushed us out of our comfort zone and made us think and work hard.
Whether it is a physical event, or a mental event, it tests us. It was not just our brigade, or our major support command, it was a state wide event. I had never met some of the Soldiers competing here today, so that helps the camaraderie even more. I earned a lot of respect for what the other units do. I had no idea what they did, and when I had to perform some of their tasks during this, some of them were pretty difficult. It gives you more respect for all the other units.”
The Maine National Guard hopes to make this event an annual event, and to include both the Air National Guardsmen and the Army National Guard, and all the units that are able to provide a squad. That means the event will get larger, and continue to push the service members to be better and always ready year after year.
Way said that’s what his unit will do. He is going to go take what he learned from this year’s event, and bring it back to his Soldiers to make sure they are even more ready for next year.
“Sapper Company owns this award now, and we aren’t planning on giving it up in the years to come,” said the Waterville native. “We will practice those tasks that we weren’t as proficient on, the medical, the maintenance stuff and we will hone those skills. Practice, practice, practice.”
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2014 09:41 |
| Story ID: | 141911 |
| Location: | ME, US |
| Web Views: | 157 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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