Photo By Spc. Andrew Clark | U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) stand at attention...... read more read more
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FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY - The XVIII Airborne Corps 2025 Best Squad Competition took place on Fort Campbell from April 12-17, pitting eleven squads from across the XVIII Airborne Corps against one another in an intense and demanding competition. The Soldiers were evaluated and tested on their individual skills in areas such as physical fitness, marksmanship, warrior tasks and battle drills, as well as their ability to operate effectively as a unit through communication and teamwork.
“The reason we do this is because competition brings out the best in folks, especially at the Corps level,” Command Sgt. Maj. Bryan D. Barker, command sergeant major of the XVIII Airborne Corps, said. “We have Soldiers, teams, representing all the Brigades, all the Divisions, across the Corps, competing against one another to see who is the best to go forward to FORSCOM.”
Best squad competitions, formerly best warrior competitions, are an initiative of the Sergeant Major of the Army and take place at the battalion, brigade, Corps, and finally at the Army level in an event that is the culmination of a year's worth of best squad competitions across the entire Army. The intention behind the best squad competition is to build a positive climate and culture across the Army and establish esprit de corps, where Soldiers are members of a cohesive team that are highly trained, disciplined, and fit.
“I can not emphasize enough how much training focus should be on the squad level and below,” Capt. William Gischia, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and officer in charge of the competition, said. “I think when we talk about the Army’s legacy, we talk about its people. And this is how we care for its people. We train at the small unit level to make sure that we are ready for combat.”
Training in many of the advanced Soldier tasks that encompass the events in the best squad competition, such as a Ranger physical fitness test and Air Assault course, are not always an emphasis for units outside of combat arms. For many of the competitors, it was an opportunity to take on training they had never been a part of before.
“In my unit, we do not have the opportunity to do a lot of these things, like the weapons lanes that they have running,” Sgt. Leslie Quijada-Johnson, a human intelligence collector assigned to the 525th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, said. “And then we are at Fort Campbell, which is home of Air Assault, so we have been getting to play around on the Air Assault obstacle course. It has been a lot of fun.”
A challenge for them, the competitors noted, and one of their greatest obstacles were the many tasks that pushed the Soldiers' endurances to their limits. Combined with those new experiences were grueling physical tasks. Oftentimes, the Soldiers were expected to conduct other events, like night land navigation, while under the weight of nearly 70-pound rucksacks. Even the brief time they were allotted for sleep the night before land navigation was dampened by a sudden downpour which left the competitors soaking wet for the next six hours of competition.
“I feel like working on this competition has definitely made me a better Soldier,” Pfc. Xavian E. Chamberlain, a network communications specialist assigned to the 35th Corps Signal Brigade, said. “I feel like it has made me more physically fit, and also made me realize where I lack in physical fitness. It has challenged me mentally, whether it was sleeping in a tent at three o’clock in the morning in the pouring rain. I never knew that these things happen in combat roles, so for me to experience it showed me where I need to progress, where I need to be at as a Soldier.”
The most vital component to the competition's challenge and success were the noncommissioned officers of the 101st Airborne who developed, arranged, and oversaw every aspect and test during the events. Command Sgt. Maj. Barker noted how properly preparing to run the events was as vital to the success of the competition as the competitor’s participation.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for NCOs to display the kind of training they have been doing throughout their career,” Master Sgt. Larry McDaniel, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and noncommissioned officer in charge of the competition, added. “And to stress the importance to their Soldiers on what it means to be a warfighter.”
At the end of the week, three teams, representing the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 82nd Airborne Division, and the 20th Engineer Brigade, had distinguished themselves for the top spots and had a final event in the form of a squad board, led by Command Sgt. Maj. Barker. Even after so many exhausting physical events, the Soldiers had to march crisply into the board room wearing their Army green service uniforms and answer a battery of questions from Sergeants Major representing many of the competitor’s units on basic Soldier knowledge and skills. Despite the physical and mental exhaustion of the previous few days, the Soldiers were alert and successfully answered the questions that the board members tossed at them.
“I think the Best Squad Competition is important to the Army’s legacy,” McDaniel said. “Because, at the team level, at the squad level, that is the first interaction that Soldiers are going to have right out of basic combat training that sets them up for their future careers and sets the tone for how they are going to grow up through the military, and then, in turn, pass that knowledge back on to the Soldiers that one day they are going to be charged to lead.”
In the end, the unit representing the 101st prevailed. Led by Staff Sgt. James Staats, the squad, featuring Cpl. Luis Pena, Spc. Richard Hartley, Spc. Alexander Anthony, and Spc. Tyler Damon, were honored in an award ceremony on the final day of the competition. The squad will go on to represent the XVIII Airborne Corps and compete in the upcoming Army Forces Command Best Squad Competition.
XVIII Airborne Corps is the nation’s no‑notice, global response force—able to deploy anywhere, integrate instantly with Joint and Coalition partners, and deter or defeat any adversary—while upholding the profession of arms, turning today’s readiness into tomorrow’s combat power through relentless innovation, and unlocking the full potential of every Soldier.
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2025 10:30 |
| Story ID: | 495919 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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