--- title: "Rangers sweep the Army’s Best Squad and Best Soldier awards" description: "Rangers have now won three of the last four Army-wide Best Squad titles after a team from 3rd Ranger Battalion was named winners Monday." date: "2026-10-12" modified: "2026-10-12" authors: - name: "Matt White" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/matt-white.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/rangers-best-squad-2026/" categories: - "Army" - "Military Branches" - "News" --- # Rangers sweep the Army’s Best Squad and Best Soldier awards ![From left, U.S. Army Spc. William Schaeffer, Sgt. William Masters, Staff Sgt. Colin Doyle, Cpl. Michael Shield and Spc. Marshall Garren, representing United States Army Special Operations Command, pose for their official team photo in preparation for Best Squad Competition 2026 at Fort Benning, Georgia, September 10, 2026. The annual competition tests the squads’ proficiency in their warrior tasks and battle drills to identify the most cohesive, highly trained, disciplined and fit team that is ready to fight and win, while demonstrating commitment to the Army Values and Warrior Ethos. (U.S. Army photo illustration by Staff Sgt. Daniel Hernandez)]() *From left, Spc. William Schaeffer, Sgt. William Masters, Staff Sgt. Colin Doyle, Cpl. Michael Shield and Spc. Marshall Garren, representing United States Army Special Operations Command at the 2026 Best Squad Competition at Fort Benning, Georgia, September 10, 2026. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel Hernandez.* Five Army Rangers won all three awards in the 2026 Best Squad competition, a second clean sweep of the event by the Rangers in the last three events. 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 two were members of a five-man squad from the 3rd Ranger Battalion at Fort Benning, Georgia, that won the service’s Best Squad competition, beating 12 others from major commands. The other members were Sgt. William Masters, Spc. William Schaeffer, and Spc. Marshall Garren. The five were announced Monday as the 2026 winners by Sgt. Major of the Army Michael Weimer at the annual Association of the U.S. Army convention in Washington. The Rangers beat teams from 11 other major Army commands in a week-long competition in September, with a litany of events that included timed ruck marches, marksmanship and weapons handling, medical scenarios and interviews with review boards The team from 3rd Ranger Battalion qualified for the competition after being named the Army Special Operations Command top squad a month earlier. The 2025 Best Squad competition [was cancelled due to a government shutdown](), but Rangers swept all three awards in [2023]() and won the [Best Squad in 2022](). A team from Army Pacific won in 2024. ## 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]()