Hospitalman Shane McGuire won the Best Medic competition at Kandahar Airfield (KAF) on August 9, 2019.  McGuire was the only U.S. Navy Corpsman to enter the competition, which consisted of 15 U.S. Army medics and Romanian contingent medical personnel.

The competition was sponsored by the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and competitors came from surrounding Forward Operating Bases (FOB) to compete for the title of “best medic.” To win the title, competitors were tasked with a series of competitions. During the first competition, competitors completed a 12-mile course while equipped with 40 pounds of gear and supplies, including body armor, their helmet and a weapon. The second competition involved a stress shooting exercise which required competitors to complete multiple physical exercises upon arrival at the range. They were then asked to fire 60 rounds at multiple targets. Points were given/taken depending on whether their targets were hit. The third competition was a test of their knot skills found in the Army Ranger handbook, which they practiced prior to the competition. Next, competitors identified improvised explosive ordinance devices (IED) and reported them via radio. A combat medicine test followed.