The Army named Spc. Mason Breunig of U.S. Army Pacific the 2024 Soldier of the year. Breunig, the son of Mindy and Matt Breunig of Sauk City, is a 2021 graduate of Sauk Prairie High School.
This honor for Breunig was announced at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition on October 14.
Breunig, as a member of his squad, also competed in the annual Best Squad Competition which took place September 29 - October 14 at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. Twelve teams from across the Army spent the first week of the competition in the field, which included a 12-mile ruck march, 18-mile ruck march, battle drills, and field warrior skills tests that evaluated technical and tactical proficiency. Then the competition’s top four finishers traveled to Washington, D.C., for a board-style review with service leaders.
“It was much tougher than I expected,” Breunig, a Wisconsin native, said. “You always want to quit, but you can’t quit even when you have nothing left to give.”
In addition to evaluating squads on the Army Combat Fitness Test, the competition also challenged Soldier discipline and endurance during ruck marches where competitors had to carry 50-pound ruck sacks. Competitors donned hazmat suits, performed life-saving skills and took part in weapons competition in the woods of Fort Liberty.