--- title: "Army cancels Best Squad Competition due to shutdown" description: "The Army's annual contest was set to start this week at Fort Bragg. The Army plans to reschedule but no date has been set." date: "2025-10-03" modified: "2025-10-03" authors: - name: "Matt White" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/matt-white/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-best-squad-canceled-shutdown/" categories: - "Army" - "Military Branches" - "News" --- # Army cancels Best Squad Competition due to shutdown ![Spc. Mason Breunig of Sauk City, Wisconsin, member of Team 8 representing USARPAC, practices a functions check on the M136 AT4-Anti Tank Weapon during the E3B lanes at the Army Best Squad Competition on Fort Liberty, North Carolina, Oct. 2, 2024. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jason Everett)]() *Soldiers from the winning team in the 2024 Army Best Squad competition check an AT4-anti tank weapon. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jason Everett* The Army has cancelled its annual Best Squad Competition this month due to the federal government-wide [shutdown](), officials said. The competition was planned to get underway this weekend at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the winners announced at the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington D.C. later this month. Army officials said Friday they were looking into rescheduling the event but did not specify a date. The annual competition was scheduled for Oct. 2-13, with field events at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and formal interviews in Washington D.C. The competition pits a roughly a dozen five-soldier teams that have won qualifying events within their major Army command. Over the course of several days at Fort Bragg, the teams were to face tests in a wide range of field and combat skills, including timed ruck marches and land navigations, marksmanship and expertise across a wide range of infantry weapons, and formal interview boards. A squad from Army Pacific [won]() the 2024 competition, dethroning the 75th Ranger Regiment, whose squads had won the [previous two years](). The competitors include squads from traditional combat and maneuver units, like Special Operations Command, Army Forces Command and Army Pacific, but also teams from support-focused units like the medical and intelligence corps. The event also selects the Army’s Soldier of the Year from among junior soldiers in the competition and NCO of the Year from team leaders. Squads from traditional infantry units generally dominate the event’s over scoreboard each year, but individual soldiers from support units often win individual awards. The competition has grown in prominence across the service in recent years with more units participating in local and command-level qualifying events. Army leaders have taken to using the spotlight of the winner’s announcement at AUSA to launch force-wide changes or new programs. Senior officials used the announcement of the winners in 2022 to announced revamped fitness standards and an overhaul of wellness. ## Author Matt White is a senior editor at Task & Purpose*.* He writes on news, people and events that affect the lives of those in the Army, Air Force and Space Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. He also helps direct and edit coverage across Task & Purpose’s newsroom. He has written widely on military aviation and mishaps, service members with unique stories, and special operations including [combat search and rescue](). Got a story to tell? You can reach Matt at [matthew.white@taskandpurpose.com]() ### Author social links [Facebook]()