Photo By Sgt. 1st Class John Healy | Pfc. Chunou Yang, an infantryman from Sacramento, Calif., currently serving with...... read more read more
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CAMP CASEY, South Korea - Testing begins on a Monday. Infantrymen from throughout the peninsula arrive at the Schoonover Bowl of Camp Casey long before the rest of the post has come to life.
Each Soldier has the same goal in mind, to earn the Expert Infantryman Badge.
“It shows you’re the best,” says Pfc. Malvert Vicents, a soft-spoken infantryman from Providence, Rhode Island, currently assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
“It’s going to be hard. You push yourself to the limit, mentally and physically,” Vicents says. “It’s something you actually earned, not awarded to you.”
Pfc. Tamir Chin, from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd ABCT, views the EIB as a rite of passage.
“I am an infantryman,” Chin says with calm self-assurance. “If I get the EIB, that shows that I’m an expert in my tasks and drills.”
“I want to be confident that I’m great at my job,” Chin says.
For Sgt. Kevin Braasch, an infantryman from Bravo Company, 1-8 Cav., being an infantryman is part of his identity.
“I love the infantry,” Braasch says. “I felt like that was my calling.”
The first task is a physical fitness test. Most Soldiers pass easily, although there are a few who are already being sent home.
EIB testing has a notoriously low pass rate, typically around 10 percent. Even fewer earn the right to call themselves “True Blue,” having received a first-time go in each portion of testing.
The sun is still down after the PT test. It won’t rise for another hour or so. Already the Soldiers are divided among the 30 different testing stations, each focusing on a different aspect of land navigation, combat lifesaving, warrior tasks and drills, or weapons proficiency.
“Everything we do in EIB is revolving around the Soldier's tasks and warrior battle drills,” said Sgt. 1st Class Randy Taylor, from Bravo Company, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd ABCT.
Taylor earned his EIB back in 2010 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Now he’s working as one of the instructors on the land navigation course.
“Everything we do here is what an infantryman does,” Taylor says. “That’s his job.”
By the third day of testing, 148 Soldiers remain, 21 percent of the 677 Soldiers who initially signed up. When they’re not testing, most try to weigh the pros and cons of sleep vs. study.
The test with the highest attrition rate is weapons proficiency. Soldiers are required to field strip and reassemble a variety of weapons systems, as well as perform a functions check and clear stoppages. Each task must be performed in the precise rapid-fire sequence that was taught by the instructors, all within a deadly time limit.
Braasch receives his second no-go while being tested on the operation and maintenance of the M4 carbine.
During the test Braasch tears down and rebuilds his rifle at Forrest Gump speeds, talking himself through each step of the way. He’s midway through the portion that required him to identify and clear a malfunction when the instructor tells him to stop. You’ve received a no-go.
Braasch sighs. He already knows what he did wrong.
“I forgot to slap up on the magazine,” he says.
Braasch is blade running. That’s what it’s called when you’ve received two no-go’s during Expert Infantryman Badge testing. One more and you’re done.
“I’ve got to do well,” Braasch says. “I’ve got no other option. Either do good or go home.”
Vicents and Chin are in the same boat. They’re both camped at the testing site for the M2 .50-caliber machine gun. Vicents’ hands fly from the charging handle to the feed tray, popping it open to sweep away imaginary loose brass casings and bullet links before slamming it down. He uses his whole body to rack the charging handle back into firing position.
“I’ve already got one no-go,” Vicents says. “Weapons by far is the hardest lane for me, and this is only my second station. I’ve got eight more to go, eight more possible no-goes.”
Vicents doesn’t plan on giving up, but he can’t help but be realistic.
“If I don’t make it, I’ll still feel good,” Vicents says. “I passed a lot of people. I’m just going to try my best.”
Chin received his no-goes during the hand grenade toss and M4 carbine testing.
“At first, it’s demotivating,” Chin says. “But you’ve got to go and get motivated again, practice and get right back at it. You have to keep your head in the game.”
With each test, the need for attention to detail becomes more apparent.
“I think that’s all the mistakes are,” Braasch says. “It’s not how good you are or how smart you are, it's can you follow directions and be cognizant of the directions you’re following and why you’re following them.”
Friday is the last day of testing. Seventy-two Soldiers meet at the Schoonover Bowl long before the rest of the post has come to life. Vicents and Chin aren’t among them.
The only thing separating the remaining Soldiers from earning the EIB is a 12 kilometer road-march followed immediately by Objective Bull, the newly added station where Soldiers evaluate and perform first aid on a casualty before evacuating them, all in one single culminating event.
Braasch finishes the road march 10 minutes before the time limit. He uses the remaining time to study before stepping across the finish line and launching into Objective Bull.
Braasch approaches the simulated casualty. His uniform is ragged and soaked in sweat. The grader watches silently over his shoulder as Braasch evaluates the casualty and performs first aid. Once he is finished, Braasch straps the casualty into a Skedco litter and begins dragging it the last 100 meters to the finish line.
Once he crosses the finish line Braasch turns to his grader and asks the question, “Am I a go?”
The grader nods, and Braasch breathes a sigh of relief, letting go of all the stress that he had endured over the week. He’d earned the badge.
“I was holding my breath until they said go or no-go,” Braasch says. “Even though I crossed the finish line, I didn’t breathe until I’d heard I was a go.”
The ceremony is held later that day after the Soldiers had a chance to shower and change. The stands are filled with those who didn’t make it. In total, 71 Soldiers receive the Expert Infantryman Badge. Ten of them are True Blue. Lt. Gen. Bernard Champoux, commander of the Eighth Army, walks out onto the field to award these Soldiers personally.
The proud few stand at attention on the field of the Schoonover Bowl. Speeches are made, followed by applause. And then, the moment they’ve all been waiting for.
As soon as the announcer speaks the words, “At this time,” people are already out of their seats. Seventy-one Soldiers watch and wait as their friends and comrades come down from the stands to shake their hand, give them a pat on the back, and pin the Expert Infantryman Badge upon their chests.
| Date Taken: | 10.29.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2015 21:41 |
| Story ID: | 180538 |
| Location: | CAMP CASEY, KR |
| Hometown: | PROVIDENCE, RI, US |
| Web Views: | 294 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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