FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (August 13, 2024) — A team of five Fort Leonard Soldiers are competing this week to take home the title of Best Squad during Training and Doctrine Command’s Best Squad Competition being held here.

The competition will assess each squad on their technical and tactical proficiency, as well as their ability to work as a disciplined and cohesive team. The competition features a multitude of different fitness and combat related events ranging from the Army Combat Fitness Test and various weapons lanes, to a strenuous 12-mile foot march and detailed individual warrior tasks and squad battle drills.

Training and Doctrine Command’s Best Squad Competition tests each squad’s ability to work as a team, complete common Soldier tasks and push the competitors to be all they can be.

The winner of the TRADOC Best Squad Competition, to be named in an awards ceremony Aug. 19, will move on to compete in the U.S. Army Best Squad Competition slated for Sept. 29 to Oct. 14, 2024.

A team of five Fort Leonard Wood Soldiers are competing for the title of Best Squad during Training and Doctrine Command’s 2024 Best Squad Competition. (From left) Pvt. 1st Class River Merrifield, Spc. Andrew Burgess, Staff Sgt. Brandon Ratliff, Staff Sgt. Dallas Simmons and Pvt. 1st Class Daniel Cruz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For B-roll of the competition, visit DVIDS – Video – TRADOC Best Squad Group and Zero – MSCoE Day 1 (dvidshub.net).

For more B-roll of the competition, visit DVIDS – Video – TRADOC Best Squad Land Navigation – MSCoE Day 2 (dvidshub.net).

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About Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.

Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.