Fort Leonard Wood Best Squad Competition and the Drill Sergeant of the Year

Four days of grueling competition this week will result in a ceremony Friday at which the winners of the Fort Leonard Wood Best Squad Competition and the Drill Sergeant of the Year competition will be revealed. The Best Squad Competition assesses 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. Each squad consists of five Soldiers: a squad leader, which is a sergeant first class or staff sergeant; a team leader, which is a sergeant or corporal; and three squad members. During this week’s Drill Sergeant of the Year Competition, the drill sergeants are tested on their physical endurance and mental acuity as they compete over four days in events such as a physical fitness assessment, a rifle stress shoot, day and night land navigation, soldiering skills lanes, an unknown distance foot march and written exams. The winner of Fort Leonard Wood’s Drill Sergeant of the Year Competition will move on to compete in the Army-wide competition.