Sgt. 1st Class Ilker Irmak tends to a victim during the Canadian Army's 2016 Starlight Challenge at the Canadian Forces Base Valcartier in Quebec May 13.

Irmak and Spec. Victor J. Galvez, who hold the titles for being both the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Army Medicine Best Warriors, helped comprise the only U.S. Army team to participate in the Starlight Challenge.

In total, 20 teams competed in a variety of areas including: military skills, clinical skills, leadership and physical fitness; with only one other international team participating from the United Kingdom. The challenge, which ran May 13-15, aimed to assess the operational readiness of the teams by challenging each team with a wide range of scenarios intended to test their abilities to operate within a physically demanding environment.

In the different scenarios, the Soldiers were trained in an international environment, allowing the U.S. and U.K. teams to become familiar with Canadian procedures, thus preparing them to deal with challenges that may arise in future operations.

The U.S. team placed first in two out of three events and placed third overall.