Photo By Sgt. Michael Blalack | Medics from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, train for the...... read more read more
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FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska – Over the last few weeks, medics from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, have been training in preparation for a trip to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in an attempt to earn the Expert Field Medical Badge.
Similar to the Expert Infantry Badge, earned and worn by infantrymen in a demonstrated display of proficiency of warrior skills and tasks, the EFMB shows that the wearer is at the top of their peers in the Army medical profession.
The EFMB was designed as a special skill award for exceptional competence and outstanding performance by Army medical personnel and approved by the Department of the Army, June 18, 1965.
“The testing is very aggressive, even by Army standards,” Brigade Medical Operations Officer 1st Lt. Sean McFarling said.
“The average pass rate is around 20 percent, and it’s not uncommon for only 10 to 12 percent of a class to earn the badge.”
The training, like the test itself, has evolved over the course of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq due to rapidly advancing technology and lessons learned in the desert.
“It used to be walking from one station to another,” McFarling said, “now it’s much more realistic and more like the situations medics will face in combat.”
To earn the EFMB, Soldiers must demonstrate a mastery of medical skills such as CPR, evaluating and treating a wide variety of injuries and trauma, and moving and evacuating injured personnel.
Many of these tasks are conducted while the medic being tested is in a simulated combat environment that requires them to demonstrate basic soldiering skills as well.
They are expected to remain calm and in control of the situation while simultaneously treating a patient, taking simulated enemy fire, negotiating obstacles, and coordinating for medical evacuation support.
Land navigation, weapons proficiency, a written test, and a 12-mile ruck march are just a few more challenges the prospective badge holders must overcome in the course of the testing.
“You have to be the best to earn this badge,” said Spc. Seth Woods, a medic with the Brigade Support Medical Company, Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. “It’s not just medic skills, but all around soldier skills. If you see somebody that has the badge you know they know what they’re doing,” he said.
The brigade was only allotted a limited number of slots to send to Hawaii, so the candidates were chosen carefully.
“The platoon sergeant picked the best,” according to 2nd Lt. Crystal Morris, Evacuation Platoon leader for the BSMC, who was there to both organize and participate in the training.
Even though only 15 of them are actually going to Hawaii to be tested, most of the brigade’s medics have taken the opportunity to attend the training, either as a refresher of basic skills or getting a jump start on the day when they will get a chance to earn the badge.
“This in one of the most difficult badges in the Army to earn,” Morris said, “so it’s seen as a great accomplishment, immediately earning the wearer respect among their peers. It’s a reason to hold your head high.
| Date Taken: | 10.16.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 10.19.2012 18:08 |
| Story ID: | 96488 |
| Location: | FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 256 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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