FALLS CHURCH, Va. — An Army Medicine Soldier was named the U.S. Army’s Best Shooter for 2022. Spc. Paulo DaSilva, Jr., a 68W combat medic excelled in the Army’s recent Best Squad Competition to receive the honor. Da Silva is assigned to the Medical Readiness Command West’s Reynolds Army Health Clinic at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

The Army’s Inaugural Best Squad Competition, replacing the Best Warrior Competition, was held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. from Sept. 29-Oct. 7. The Army’s Soldier and NCO of the Year were also named. The NCO of the Year was also an Army Medicine Soldier — Sgt. Garrett Paulson.

DaSilva said that the Best Squad firing range was the most difficult firing range he’d ever seen.

“It was at an upward angle. There was lots of greenery that made it hard to see the targets because they blend into the surroundings.” It was also an overcast day, he said.

“I was confident in my shots. Although I excelled against my peers in the train up, I didn’t expect to win. I was pretty stoked to learn I’d won against such high-caliber competitors as the Special Forces and the Infantry,” he said.

DaSilva shared that all of the Army Medicine squad were highly motivated and went into the competition to win and worked hard in their training to do better.

“It really started within for all of us. We all had a drive. We spent our training time focusing on the areas in which we needed more help. I focused on shooting movement and land navigation. Shooting the M4 clicked with me and became an area I excelled in. We had good training and resources. I was in awe of the caliber of people who were training us,” he said.

DaSilva has only been in the Army for two years and is currently doing his first permanent party assignment. He ended up in the competition because one of his leaders saw his potential as a good competitor. DaSilva said he was “volun-told” to compete. The training leading up to the competition was rigorous and included early morning physical training, high-intensity workouts, weightlifting, ruck marching, obstacle courses and land navigation.

“We showed up as Army Medicine Soldiers,” he said. “Everything got thrown at us, not just medical. We had a lot of determination to show that MEDCOM is not to be taken lightly in this competition.”

Before joining the Army, DaSilva had been a painter, a maintenance man, a casino supervisor, a CNC machine operator and even did body piercings. He said he chose an Army medical career because of his religious background.

“I didn’t want to be striking anybody,” he said. “I didn’t want to be Infantry. Being a [68] Whiskey helped me save some Soldiers instead of taking people out. I wanted to help some Soldiers and become one,” said DaSilva.

The 30-year-old Californian has been married for two years, and he and his wife are expecting their first child in the coming weeks.

DaSilva said if he had a choice of future assignments, he would love to go to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State or to the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii.

Story and photo by Stephanie Abdullah

Additional photo by PFC Hans Williams

FORT IRWIN, Calif. — The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment frequently functions as an opposing force, providing a realistic training environment for service members participating in exercises at Fort Irwin’s expansive National Training Center.

Last month, however, select Soldiers from the regiment had the opportunity to serve in a different and very unique role — that of a future warfighter.

Equipped with prototype wearables, next-generation drones and specialized knowledge of maneuver warfare, the Soldiers lent their time and insights to support Project Convergence 22, an experiment designed by the Army to illuminate the benefits and challenges new technologies could bring to tomorrow’s battlefields.

“It’s cool that we’re shaping the future of the Army,” said Sgt. Austin Gazaway.

Gazaway saw value in conducting future force experimentation alongside major allies — an effort he viewed as helping to “open up transparency” about emerging capabilities and warfighting systems.

Sgt. Calvin Robinson also enjoyed taking part in operational scenarios created specifically to field-test new technologies.

“I feel like the PC22 event went really well,” he said. “It was a good opportunity to see what the Army is possibly deciding to give future Soldiers.”

Gazaway, Robinson and other 11th ACR Soldiers, many of whom had not previously participated in dedicated Army innovation efforts, spent seven days in early November assessing the effectiveness of equipment such as the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle – Binocular, or ENVG-B; the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS; and the ExoBoot.

“Going from old to new, to high-powered technology, it’s pretty nice,” said Spc. Ian Campbell.

Campbell felt the ENVG-B’s dual scopes performed better than a more traditional single scope night vision goggle.

“I thought it was really helpful to keep track of my team and to see where my guys are,” he said. “I think overall it improved our team’s lethality.”

For many of the Soldiers, using the still-in-development technology took some getting used to. Several experiment participants noted that the IVAS and ExoBoot still had “some kinks” to work through, but that they looked forward to seeing how the Army would incorporate their feedback into future iterations of the apparatuses.

“The fact that they gave us a chance to actually use some of the products is a really good thing, I feel like,” Robinson said.

Robinson added that the 11th ACR’s familiarity with the terrain at the National Training Center, which encompasses more than 1,000 square miles, helped ensure the technology received a rigorous and authentic evaluation.

Following completion of the experiment, the overall consensus among 11th ACR Soldiers interviewed was that the Army’s new approaches to enhancing Soldier Lethality were promising.

“I feel like it will make a lot of stuff easier,” Gazaway said.

He additionally reflected on how Soldiers in the past likely thought certain equipment that the Army uses today was “weird” or awkward when first introduced, but that adjustments to new operating tools and methods are a natural and necessary aspect of change.

“The future just keeps moving forward.”

Campbell agreed.

“At some point, it will just become the new normal.”

By Maureena Thompson, Army Futures Command