At this year's Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference, the Army announced this year's top squad. The annual Top Squad Competition took place in September and October on Fort Liberty in North Carolina.
During the competition, squads from different units and commands spend a week in the field conducting long-distance ruck marches and executing soldier skills that the Army describes as having, "evaluated technical and tactical proficiency."
Each squad must consist of a squad leader at the rank of Staff Sergeant or Sergeant First Class with a team leader position filled by a Sergeant or Corporal and three soldiers at the rank of Specialist or Private.
The top four squads then proceed to the next round in Washington D.C. where they are boarded by Army leadership.
The Sergeant Major of the Army announced the winners this week, with a squad from United States Army Pacific taking the top spot. Specialist Mason Breunig of U.S. Army Pacific won Soldier of the Year and Sergeant First Class Alexander Haynes of U.S. Army Medical Command earned NCO of the Year.
"It was much tougher than I expected,” Breunig described in an Army press release. “You always want to quit, but you can’t quit even when you have nothing left to give."
"Being named NCO of the Year was the furthest thing from my mind,” said Haynes who serves as a combat medic said. "I was just being present for my Soldiers to make sure they’re taken care of."
