Photo By Pfc. Anastasia Addis | Army Reserve Best Squad competitors, Pfc. Joseph Varcoe, Pfc. Aiden Chilson, Spc....... read more read more
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Soldiers from across the U.S. Army Reserve deployed to Fort McCoy in May 2026 to compete in the U.S. Army Reserve Command Best Squad Competition — a demanding week-long event designed to identify the Reserve’s top squad while testing physical fitness, tactical proficiency, marksmanship, leadership, and teamwork under challenging conditions.
At the conclusion of the competition, Squad 20 from the 807th Theater Medical Command (TMC) earned the title of U.S. Army Reserve Best Squad for fiscal year 2026, according to results released by the U.S. Army Reserve at https://www.facebook.com/usarmyreserve/posts/pfbid0hGatDtjBHE93fjv6MLSUnxEfHhPcFGDHQxjXSoETbDiitAncc4MJpBPMSEH4mPmvl.
The winning squad consisted of Staff Sgt. David Kratky, Spc. Grace Libby, Spc. Campbell King, Pfc. Aidan Chilson, and Pfc. Joseph Varcoe.
In addition to helping lead the winning squad to victory, Kratky was named the Army Reserve’s Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, while Libby earned honors as the Soldier of the Year. The competition’s Top Marksman award was earned by Staff Sgt. Eduardo Lemos-Mederos of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command.
The competition brought together nearly 100 Soldiers representing Army Reserve commands from across the nation and challenged them through a series of events that evaluated warrior tasks, physical endurance, tactical decision-making, weapons proficiency, and leadership abilities, organizers stated. The event also highlighted the Army Reserve’s emphasis on readiness and lethality while identifying the Soldiers who best exemplify Army standards.
Fort McCoy served as an ideal venue for the competition due to its extensive training infrastructure and long-standing role as one of the Army's premier readiness platforms, according to Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
Located in the heart of the Upper Midwest, the installation routinely supports training for active-duty, Reserve, National Guard, and joint-service forces. Fort McCoy’s ranges, maneuver areas, urban operations facilities, and specialized training sites allow units to conduct realistic, large-scale training across a wide range of military occupational specialties and mission requirements.
The competition also reflected Fort McCoy's recently updated strategic direction. In 2026, the installation adopted a new motto: “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” Installation leaders noted the motto reflects both Fort McCoy's more than century-long history and its continued focus on modernization and future readiness.
The installation’s new mission statement further emphasizes that role, stating Fort McCoy “strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
Likewise, its vision statement calls for Fort McCoy “to be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”
The success of the 2026 Army Reserve Best Squad Competition demonstrated that vision in action. By providing the facilities, resources, and training environment necessary to challenge the Army Reserve's best Soldiers, Fort McCoy once again showed why it remains a critical readiness platform for the Total Force and a premier destination for military training across the nation.
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office and U.S. Army Reserve coverage by Pfc. Anastasia Addis, Staff Sgt. Paul Anthony, Staff Sgt. Dylan Grace, Sgt. 1st Class Tom Wade, Sgt. 1st Class Monte Swift, Master Sgt. Crystal Harlow, and Capt. Tyler Rickenbach.)
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2026 13:11 |
| Story ID: | 567240 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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