‘Who doesn’t want to be first?’ Best Squad, NCO and Soldier named at AUSA

After a multi-day gauntlet of obstacle courses, ruck marches and technical trials that tested human endurance and proficiency, the five-soldier squad from the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment was named the Best Squad during a ceremony at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition on Monday.

From Sept. 11 to 19, 11 squads battled at Fort Benning, Georgia, to earn the titles of Soldier of the Year, Noncommissioned Officer of the Year and Best Squad.

Cpl. Michael Shield was named the Army’s Soldier of the Year, and Staff Sgt. Colin Doyle as the Army’s non-commissioned officer of the year. The announcement cements the Rangers as a dominant force within the Army competition, with the special forces unit sweeping the last three events in four years.

“The 75th Ranger Regiment is a one-of-a-kind unit,” Doyle said, an Army release states. “We simply show up to work every day focused on marksmanship, small unit tactics, medical training and mobility.”

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer presented the awards to Shield and Doyle, as well as to the soldiers that rounded out the best squad, which included Sgt. William Masters, Spc. William Schaeffer and Spc. Marshall Garren.

After securing its place in the competition and being named the Army Special Operations Command top squad in August, the five-soldier squad found themselves in the muck and mire of Fort Benning.

During the 2026 competition, events ranged from fitness assessments, weapons qualifications, medical scenarios and an 18.6-mile nighttime foot march and obstacle course. Competitors also experienced the “First 100 Yards” evolution that replaced the traditional “shark attack” opening day for recruits, the release said. The soldiers also completed the combat water survival course, loaded and fired from an M1A2 Abrams and rounded out the competition with interviews with review boards.

“The Army Best Squad Competition is important because it shows where the readiness of the different commands is at across the entire Army,” Shield said. “And on top of that, competition is a huge part of the Army. And who doesn’t want to be first?”

This is the first Best Squad competition in two years after the yearly competition was canceled in 2025 due to a “lapse in appropriations” caused by Congress’ failure to pass a fiscal 2026 budget.

In 2022, Rangers earned the title of Best Squad and swept all three awards the following year. In 2024, a team from the U.S. Army Pacific won Best Squad.