EFMB: Warrior Brigade Medical Soldiers begin training for a Portrait of Excellence

HI, UNITED STATES

07.15.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Carlos Davis 

2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii – Every year, the 25th Infantry Division hosts the Expert Field Medical Badge Testing on Schofield Barracks, here, and this year will not be any different.

More than 50 Soldiers, assigned to 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, plan to have the prestigious badge pinned on their uniform during the EFMB closing ceremony this August.

With more than 200 tasks to be completed in a specific order and less than a 7 percent pass rate, the Warrior Brigade Soldiers must be ready and prepared.

“By attending this training, it allows the Soldiers to become formalize with the training and gain firsthand experience for what the instructors will be looking for when they attempt the actual training,” said 1st Lt. Sara Schubert, from Appleton, Wisconsin, a health services administration officer assigned to Company C, 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd IBCT. “It’s not the exact lane from what they will see when they go through the actual event. However, this training allows them to become familiar with the tasks Soldiers struggle with the most.”

According to Schubert, the EFMB testing instills confidence in the Soldiers as they perform their everyday duties.

“Part of the EFMB testing allows Soldiers to gain confidence and learn new skills very quickly and rapidly,” she said. “Being able to adapt to what is being thrown at them allows them to build confidence in their selves and their skill sets. They will be able to take that confidence back to their units and be able to adapt to anything as we transition into a light infantry brigade.”

For one Soldier being allowed to attend this training will set them up for success.

“I received my EFMB on my third attempt,” said Staff Sgt. Gregory Tainatongo, from Spanaway, Wash., a medic assigned to Company C, 225th BSB. “At my old unit, we didn’t have anything like this for the Soldiers. The individual tasks which a Soldier has to accomplish and doing so by the AMEDDC&S Pamphlet 350-10 standard is hard enough, however, going through this training will set them up for success.”

To prepare the Soldiers for the upcoming physical demand of the EFMB testing, the instructors focused on the tactical combat and casualty care lane, the day and night land navigation course, and a 12-mile road march around Schofield Barracks.

While this training is vital and challenging in itself, Tainatongo also says the physical part of making it through the EFMB testing starts every morning when a Soldier arrives at their units for physical readiness training.

“Soldiers in the medical field should be training every day for this, from early morning when conducting physical readiness training to when they return from the range and have to assemble and disassemble their weapons to be cleaned,” he said. “Everything we do in our units provides us the knowledge base and skill set to get through this training. If they want it, then they should strive for it.”
As the days get numbered and the actual EFMB testing rapidly approaches, the number of Soldiers who will join the club is yet to be seen.

“It’s like joining a club, when a Soldier earns their EFMB. They go back and train other Soldiers to earn their EFMB,” said Schubert. “It’s a bonding experience in the medical MOS (military occupational specialty) wherever a Soldier is stationed. It’s something which can bring a unit together and even if a Soldier does not earn the badge, they can say, well, yeah, I did try, and will attempt it again.”

• Date Taken: 07.15.2016
• Date Posted: 07.18.2016 20:31
• Story ID: 204302
• Location: HI, US
• Hometown: APPLETON, WI, US
• Hometown: SPANAWAY, WA, US