Soldiers from 2nd Cavalry Regiment representing V Corps claimed the title of “Best Squad” Aug. 12 following this year’s competition for soldiers within U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
The 96-hour competition tests “squad members’ physical strength, mental resilience and tactical and technical proficiencies in order to advance and compete in the Department of the Army-level Best Squad Competition later this Fall,” the Army said in a press release.
The newly crowned top squad will head to the Army-wide Best Squad competition in September.
“I’m looking forward to it; it’ll be more difficult and the competition may be tougher, but we’ll just have to train harder and get after it when we get there,” Spec. Garrett Headden, a member of the winning squad, said.
![](https://www.militarytimes.com/resizer/v2/X2UWDPXCRJEAJLAP4JBCGZUI2E.jpg?auth=8ac32d6475a38481de5765f2afa2985295e7fdc6b15f39063f0f3d48b7409a34&width=1800&height=1200)
Over the course of the grueling four-day competition, soldiers completed events like the Army Combat Fitness Test. They also had range time on the M4 rifle, AT4 anti-tank weapon and the M240 Machine Gun, as well as combat casualty care tests and ruck marches.
Other competitors included squads from 7th Army Training Command; U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa; 56th Artillery Command; 21st Theater Sustainment Command; 2nd Theater Signal Brigade and 66th Military Intelligence Brigade.
![](https://www.militarytimes.com/resizer/v2/Y3YIH5FI4FGNFOFFOC4CXLYLDA.jpg?auth=600335f4d0b139774e484db169a13d54603d1530cd9297ae39c90f69893de86b&width=1798&height=1200)
Included within the Best Squad competition is also the hunt for the Army’s Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year.
Pfc. Derek Peterson, a member of V Corps’ winning squad, claimed both the title of “Top Soldier” and “Iron Soldier.”
“Winning this competition helped bring us together as a team and helped us further work out some of our flaws,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to the next competition.”
V Corps’ forward presence in Europe has been solidifying as of late. President Joe Biden announced at a NATO summit in Madrid this summer that the U.S. would make the V Corps headquarters at Camp Kościuszko in Poland permanent.
Rachel is a Marine Corps veteran and a master's candidate at New York University's Business & Economic Reporting program.