Photo By Edward Eagerton | Sgt. Maj. Michael Grunst, deputy director of military support, Alaska Army National...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - One Alaska Army National Guardsman was awarded the Expert Infantry Badge after successfully completing the EIB course here, Sept. 9-13.
Sgt. Joseph St. Germain, an infantryman with B Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 143rd Infantry Regiment, received his EIB after completing the five-day course, hosted by the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army.
“There were hundreds of active-duty Soldiers testing for their EIB, and eight National Guardsmen participated as well,” said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Dellabalma, an infantryman with C Company (Long Range Surveillance), 1st Battalion, 297th Reconnaissance and Surveillance Brigade. “Sgt. St. Germain was the only Guardsman to complete the course. That’s a 12.5 percent pass rate, which is roughly on par with the average pass rate for all participants.”
The testing began with 645 Soldiers attempting to earn the EIB. By the end of the rigorous course, only 67 Soldiers earned the right to wear the coveted badge.
The EIB was created to recognize infantrymen who have demonstrated a mastery of critical tasks that build the core foundation of individual proficiency that allow them to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy though fire and maneuver and repel an enemy assault through fire and close combat, according to the U.S. Army’s official website.
“It’s a lot of attention to detail,” said St. Germain.
The five-day course consisted of a physical fitness test, day and night land navigation, master skills testing stations that tested individuals on their confidence and proficiency on various weapons systems, individual tactical test lanes that tested basic infantry skills and a 12-mile foot march.
During the testing, Soldiers were graded on performance measures. Missing certain performance measures resulted in receiving a no go, and three no go's resulted in being dropped from the course.
“The biggest thing is being able to talk yourself through all of the performance measures,” St. Germain said. “The events are timed, but you have to focus on the task at hand and not think about what’s next, otherwise you might miss a step. I would just talk out loud as I was going through the motions, that way I wouldn’t feel like I was rushing.”
Before the events, Soldiers were given the opportunity to train at the various stations, he explained. But with so many people trying to test for the EIB, that training time was limited for each Soldier.
“It helps to be familiar with the weapons systems,” St. Germain added. “That’s what got a lot of people was the weapons systems. If you have a good idea about them, you’ll understand what the cadre are looking for.”
After making it through the individual lanes, the remaining Soldiers had to complete the 12-mile foot march. The Soldiers were given three hours to complete the march, at the end of which they had to do a layout of their gear and disassemble their M4 carbines, reassemble them and perform a functions check. Completing these tasks after the physical exertion was all that stood between failure and receiving the coveted EIB.
"After I did my layout and I knew I had it, it felt good," St. Germain said. "I enjoyed being out in the field, had fun working with the active duty guys, and the Cadre were really good. I'm proud to have earned it."
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2014 19:27 |
| Story ID: | 142476 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 265 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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