The Army is filled with sarcastic double entendres such as "volun-told" and mandatory fun, but in this case, it seems to have worked out in the end for Spc. Paulo DaSilva. He was "volun-told" to participate in the Army's Best Squad competition, meaning that a superior told him that he would volunteer to compete.
DaSilva joined the Army as a medic due to his religious beliefs. “I didn’t want to be striking anybody,” he said. “I didn’t want to be Infantry. Being a [68] Whiskey helped me save some Soldiers instead of taking people out. I wanted to help some Soldiers and become one,” he explained.
The train-up for the inaugural Best Squad competition, held at Fort Bragg and in Washington D.C. was no joke according to DaSilva. It consisted not just of medical training but everything they would be tested on, so his squad conducted grueling physical training sessions, land navigation, ruck marching, and other training.
During the Best Squad competition, DaSilva really excelled on the firing range, outcompeting soldiers from the Infantry and Special Forces. "It was at an upward angle. There was lots of greenery that made it hard to see the targets because they blend into the surroundings," he said about the course of fire.
None the less, he managed to take top shot.
The married 30-year-old soldier is expecting his first child, and joined the Army after a colorful work history in the civilian world where he had been employed as a painter, a CNC machine operator, a casino manager, and even did body piercings at one point.
But while training up for the competition he said, "Shooting the M4 clicked with me and became an area I excelled in. We had good training and resources. I was in awe of the caliber of people who were training us."
Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.
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