Sgt. Tyrone Sharp has made a career of focusing on others’ well-being as a religious affairs NCO for the U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division.

When he competed in the division-level Best Squad Competition this past March in California, he was able to take some time to focus on his own personal and professional development.

“I volunteered to take part in this competition to challenge myself and to step out of my comfort zone,” said Sharp, who was crowned 99th RD NCO of the Year based on the competition results. “It taught me a lot about myself, taught me things I need work on, and showed me that I can accomplish things I didn’t think I could.”

The BSC was initiated by former Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston in September 2022 to replace the Best Warrior Competition and stress the importance of building a cohesive team that is highly trained, disciplined, and mentally and physically tough, according to Sgt. Maj. Paul E. Caswell, 99th RD interim command sergeant major.

“The Best Warrior Competition was an individual-based competition, while the Best Squad Competition has five-person squads with two NCOs in charge of three junior Soldiers,” Caswell explained. “Getting after ownership of a squad and building those cohesive teams was the biggest reason to transition from an individual-based competition to a squad-based competition.”

The competition in California consisted of five-dozen Soldiers from 10 Army Reserve general-officer commands who competed in various events such as the Field Leadership Reaction Course, rappel tower, rifle and pistol ranges, land navigation course, medical lanes, grenade range, and Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain course.

The BSC tested squad members on the depth of their military knowledge, their physical fitness, proficiency in military skills, and leadership in both individual and team scenarios.

Of course, BSC is more than just competition for competition’s sake – it also fosters the Warrior Ethos in its young competitors who represent the Force of the Future.

“One of the things I talked about it at the Best Squad Competition we had for the combined Major Support Commands in California this past March was the peer threat,” Caswell said.

“Certain adversaries – and the capabilities they have in the Denied Degraded, and Disrupted Space Operational Environment, which is commonly known as D3SOE – can take out our satellite capabilities, so that takes away satellite communications and global positioning systems, and there is a whole list of stuff that we use in the Army that is run by both of those,” Caswell explained.

“When you take away those capabilities, you have squads out there operating on the battlefield without the capabilities they’re used to having, to include communicating back to their next higher headquarters,” he continued.

“When I talk about this kind of stuff like I did in California, it’s to get after two things – one, to help Soldiers understand what's expected of them at the squad level in the event we go into a fight with a peer adversary; and two, to take the operational concept that is Best Squad Competition back with them to their units and operationalize their training,” Caswell added.

Although Sharp will not be moving on to the Army Reserve-level BSC scheduled to be held here in late August, the experience he gained competing in the division-level BSC may prove invaluable to his Army career.

“This is the first competition I did in the Army,” Sharp said. “I think it’s important because it challenges and develops you as an individual Soldier, and also helps improve teamwork and communication and boost confidence.”