Squads Revamp Their Skills with Competition

Photo By Sgt. Jarod Dye | Soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard train on how to treat a casualty September 9, 2017 as part of the state's Best Squad Competition. In this event Soldiers were required to treat and evacuate a patient while being timed, after each squad completed the task, their times and performance were compared. (Maine Army National Guard Photo by Spc. Jarod Dye)  

BANGOR, ME, UNITED STATES

09.09.2017

Story by Spc. Jarod Dye 

121st Public Affairs Detachment

Maine Soldiers from every type of unit including infantry, military police, maintenance, engineers, and aviation traveled to the Bangor to compete in the state’s Best Squad Competition, September 9-10, 2017.
The competition at the Armed Forces Reserve Center required the squads to demonstrate several basic and advanced Soldier skills that all National Guardsmen must know.
“It’s an endurance competition,” said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Stahl, a flight medic with Company G, 3rd Battalion of the 126th Aviation Regiment. “We go all through the day, into the night, and into the early morning the next day. It sees if we can keep our discipline and our energy up and accomplish the mission when the fatigue starts to become a factor.”
The aviation squad, which is comprised of Soldiers from three different units, didn’t know exactly what to expect as only one of their members had competed before.
“It was a little bit of shock but that’s what aviation does, we adapt and we overcome,” said Stahl, the leader of the aviation squad in the competition. “We make it happen, we get it done.”
Aviation is a highly technical field which often leaves units little time to get back to the basic Soldier skills.
“We don’t get a chance to do these tasks very often,” said Stahl. “It’s good to see it. We can take the experience we get here and take it back to the unit.”
These skills are essential to their mission.
“It’s important to master these skills so we’ll be proficient if we ever have to do these tasks in a mission capacity, overseas or here for emergency relief,” said Stahl.
Some of the tasks, such as the Humvee pull, three mile run, and ruck march were physically grueling.
“We’re tired that’s for sure,” said Stahl. “They’re pushing us to our limit, but spirits have been pretty high!”
Within the squad, the training has given individuals a chance to take charge and develop their leadership skills.
“The variety of tasks that we’ve done today have given everyone a chance to shine,” said Stahl. “Pretty much everybody on the team will get a chance to be the subject matter expert on something we do today.”
The organizers of the event specifically designed the events to be well rounded and test every aspect of what a Soldier should be.
“I’m a firm believer that every Soldier is a rifleman first,” said Sgt. Maj. John Brooks, the sergeant major for the 120th Regional Support Group. “The competition brings out the warrior spirit in all of the Soldiers and reminds them why they joined.”
As the organizer of the event he is extremely impressed with the effort of the competitors. Most squads were forced to complete tasks outside of their normal range of operation.
Some of these events included changing Humvee tires, completing a stress shoot, searching for mock improvised explosive devices, carrying litters, or quickly setting up a large military tent.
“It gave leaders the chance to see Soldiers step up in a competition,” said Brooks. “That can’t always happen in a drill weekend.”
The 488th Military Police Company took home a trophy for earning the most points during the competition and the squad competing are already planning to take the trophy away for next year.

• Date Taken: 09.09.2017
• Date Posted: 09.13.2017 18:02
• Story ID: 248165
• Location: BANGOR, ME, US