Soldiers from the 9th Mission Support Command (MSC) put their warrior skills to the test last week.
During the Best Squad competition hosted by the 9th MSC and 311th Signal Command Theater (SCT) from March 1 to March 6 Soldiers from five different squads faced challenging tasks requiring outstanding technical proficiency and physical endurance as Army Reserve and active- duty Soldiers fought for the coveted title of Best Squad. Winners will go on to represent the 9th Mission Support Command at the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) and the U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC) or the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) Best Squad competitions.
"I feel like this is the ultimate test," said Spc. Victoria Debello from the 311th SCT Support Unit in Tustin, California, who has served in the Army Reserve for three years. "So I'm here to learn and better myself as a Soldier."
The 9th MSC Command Sgt. Maj., Paul L. Fulmer, visited Soldiers at the testing sites and was impressed by the dedication of the Soldiers who participated in the competition and their unwavering commitment to excellence since many Soldiers have won a Best Squad or best Soldier competition to earn their spot in this competition.
"I'm very proud of the Soldiers that committed to this competition," he said. "They took the time, put in the effort, and are proving that they are trained and prepared to perform their Army warrior tasks, battle drills, and that they maintain their proficiency in weapons."
Best Squad Competitions include challenges designed to test small-unit leadership, technical proficiency and physical endurance at different locations across Oahu Island. This iteration included weapons qualifications with a rifle and a pistol, map reading, day and night land navigation, a jungle 5 kilometer run, a timed water survival event where participants swam with notional weapons and ammunition canisters across a pool, an obstacle course and a patrol in a Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) training facility.
Second Lt. Jade Trevino, the 9th MSC Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Joint 9th MSC and 311th Signal SCT Best Squad Competition said that this Best Squad Competition helped Soldiers maintain mission readiness at all times as they maintained their equipment from "weapons down to bug spray" and honed their warrior skills by putting their leadership and teamwork skills in a high-stress environment to the test.
"It definitely developed them in terms of teamwork," she said. "That was just so special to me to be able to tell them I'm so proud of you for what you did today and the work you put in."
During the competition, a competing squad typically consists of a squad leader who is a Staff Sgt., two team leaders who are at the Sgt. or Cpl. level, and two enlisted soldiers including a Private and a Spc.
Staff Sgt. Daniel Le, an Army Reserve Soldier from the 311th Signal Command Theater Support Unit, said the experience of focusing on leadership at the squad level has been a great opportunity to put his leadership training into practice.
"As an NCO, I think it's a great opportunity for me to utilize what I learned at the Basic Leader Course (BLC)," he said.
BLC is a 169 hour resident program for Specialists and Corporals, focusing on six core skills of leadership including Readiness, Leadership, Training Management, Communications, Operations, and Program Management, designed to transform lower enlisted into highly effective NCOs.
The Best Squad winner for the 311th SCT was the 1st Signal Brigade from Camp Humphreys, South Korea with a squad consisting of Staff Sgt. Nicholas Lightner, Sgt. Markus Given, Spc. Connor Salcido, Spc. Wilmer Duran and Pfc. Anthony Fabian.
The Best Squad winner for the 9th MSC was the 962nd Quartermaster (Mortuary Affairs) Company, an Army Reserve unit based on Fort Shafter Flats with Staff Sgt. Chong Gum, Sgt. Brandon Ramos, Cpl. Athen Micheal Garrido, Spc. Solomon Ohira, and Spc. Noah Shorter.
The Headquarters and Headquarters Company 311th SCT squad earned second place, the 516th Theater Signal Brigade (TSB) squad earned third place, and the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD) SCT earned fourth place.
Pfc. Maria Caballero from the 78th Signal Battalion, an active-duty Soldier stationed at Camp Zama, Japan shared how challenging it was to earn a place in this competition and how the Best Squad competition reinforced her warrior mindset.
"I worked hard for this," said Caballero. "We won the Best Squad competition at the brigade level and so it's just proving to myself that I'm capable of doing everything that I put my mind to."
Brig. Gen. Ray Phariss, the commander of the 311th SCT, spoke at the Best Squad award ceremony and encouraged participants to use their warrior spirit at their home units.
"You got an opportunity to stretch and go beyond what you thought you could do," he said. "Take that new experience and confidence back to your units and be an example for other Soldiers and leaders to hopefully realize that when you give extra, you receive extra, right?"