Middleburg Soldier Competes for Army’s Top Honor in Europe

By Valerie Cury

“Be all you can be, and nothing worth doing should be done halfway.”

Those were the words Blake Barfield’s grandfather repeated throughout his childhood in Middleburg.

Today, they have become the philosophy guiding the young soldier as he competes against some of the U.S. Army’s top squads in Europe.

Barfield, a Network Communication Systems Specialist assigned to the 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is representing his command in the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Squad Competition after helping lead his team to a second-place finish in the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s Best Squad Competition.

The weeklong competition, taking place July 30 through Aug. 6 at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany, brings together elite squads from across Europe to test every aspect of military excellence. 

Soldiers are evaluated on technical and tactical proficiency, communication, teamwork, endurance, resilience and leadership under demanding conditions. The winning squad will advance to represent U.S. Army Europe and Africa at the Army Best Squad Competition, where one noncommissioned officer and one junior enlisted soldier will ultimately be named the Army’s Best NCO and Best Soldier of the Year.

For Barfield, the competition represents much more than an opportunity to earn a title.

“I’ve taken these words with me throughout my career and done everything possible to be all I can be,” Barfield said, reflecting on the advice his grandfather shared throughout his childhood.

Those lessons carried him from western Loudoun County to military service overseas, where he now serves alongside soldiers responsible for sustaining Army operations across Europe.

While the competition measures marksmanship, technical expertise and physical endurance, it also places a premium on trust, communication and the ability to perform as a cohesive team under pressure—qualities that often define military success long after the competition ends.

For Barfield, those values have become a way of life.

From a small Loudoun County community to one of the Army’s most demanding competitions, he continues to live by the advice that first inspired him as a boy: give your very best, finish what you start and never do anything halfway.