MEDCoE Soldiers compete to be the Best of the Best

Story by Erin Perez

U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON—Soldiers from the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence participated in the command’s Best of the Best Competition May 13-17.

The MEDCoE Best of the Best Competition promotes readiness and resiliency through a series of tasks and challenges that provide appropriate rigor, resilience and realism, preparing Soldiers to save lives in a complex operating environment.

Soldiers competed for the titles of Drill Sergeant of the Year, Best Junior Officer, Best Noncommissioned Officer, Best Soldier and Best Squad. This year, competitors also had the chance to earn both the Expert Field Medical Badge and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge in either bronze, silver or gold.

Sgt.1st Class Angel Rangel-Garcia, a drill sergeant from the 264th Medical Battalion, earned the title of Drill Sergeant of the Year and the Silver GAFPB. He will go on to compete at the Army’s Best Drill Sergeant Competition in September.

“The competition itself drove me to compete,” said Rangel-Garcia. “I like to compete. I like to be out there and lead from the front—lead by example. When the competition came up… my hand went up.”

2nd Lt. Skyler Larsen, from the 264h Medical Battalion, earned the title of Best Officer, Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Manley, of the 232nd Medical Battalion, earned the title of Best Noncommissioned Officer and the Bronze GAFPB, and Spc. Connor Pilcher, of the 188th Medical Battalion, took home the title of Best Soldier.

“Events like this are very important to the Army because they allow us to increase our competitive edge amongst one another, which also builds camaraderie with those that are competing,” said Larsen. “It also ensures that we are staying proficient in the tasks that are necessary to win today’s and tomorrow’s wars.”

In addition to taking the top spot in their respective categories, Manley and Pilcher will be joined by Sgt. Sean Bailey from the 188th Medical Battalion, Spc. Matthew Wakefield and Spc. Evan LeHoux, both from the 188th Medical Battalion, as they compete in the U.S. Training and Doctrine Command’s Best Squad Competition. Wakefield also earned the Bronze GAFPB.

Nine out of the 18 MEDCoE Soldiers who earned a GAFPB were also competitors. Cpt. Dustin Lee, an assistant professor with the MEDCoE Graduate School, was the only individual to earn the Gold GAFPB.

The competitors spent four days at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis and tackled events like day and night land navigation, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Army Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills, a 12-mile road march, obstacle course, GAFPB Physical Fitness Assessment, Expert Field Medical Badge Physical Fitness Assessment and swim test, weapons marksmanship and stress shoot, and others.

Command Sgt. Maj. Victor Laragione, command sergeant major of MEDCoE, expressed his gratitude to the Soldiers and partners who made the competition a success, and he thanked the competitors for their tremendous effort.

“It [the competition] was tough by design,” said Laragione. “They went out there and they tested themselves, and they pushed themselves past what, potentially, they thought they could do. But they realized they are strong, and they are warriors, and I’m super proud of them.”