Lahaina soldier competes for top Army squad in Germany

Lahaina native Sgt. Sinoe Fatongia is competing in the US Army Europe and Africa Best Squad Competition in Germany for a chance to advance to the overall military finals.

Teams from across the region are at the Grafenwoehr Training Area from July 30 to Aug. 6. The competitive training event exercises a full range of squad-level skills, testing overall cohesion, communication and individual tactical proficiency.

Fatongia serves as a parachute rigger with the 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany. His group earned a spot in the current event after finishing in second place at the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s recent qualifying competition.

The winning squad will advance to represent the Europe and Africa region at the US Army Best Squad Competition. The Army will also select one noncommissioned officer and one junior soldier from the winning group to be named the Army’s Best Non-commissioned Officer and Best Soldier of the Year.