Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Christie Smith | Spc. Joshua Lansink, Company D, 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry, of Denison, Iowa,...... read more read more
By Sgt. Christie R. Smith
Twenty-five Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry (“Red Bull”) Division competed for their Expert Infantry Badge at Camp Blanding, Fla., April 2-6. They were accompanied by four fellow “Red Bull” candidates from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard, and six cadre members who previously earned their badges.
The candidates and cadre represented the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry; 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry; and 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry.
Soldiers wanting to earn the prestigious Expert Infantry Badge face tough odds. The current pass rate at the Florida National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry-hosted event is a mere 18 percent. In order to claim the badge, candidates must successfully complete more than 30 events – broken into three categories: weapons, medical and patrol – within specific performance measures and, often, time limits.
“It's all about learning the Army Warrior tasks and your battle drills,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Warrington, the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry command sergeant major. “What you're trying to do is set up Soldiers to become experts at what they do.”
Some events allow candidates a second try if their first is unsuccessful, but candidates can only re-try a total of two events during the five-day testing phase.
There are three events candidates must pass on their first attempt. The first, the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), measures Soldiers' fitness in three exercises: push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. The Army standard for a passing grade in the APFT is 60 percent for each event, but for the Expert Infantry Badge, candidates must score 80 percent in each of the three events to continue.
The second event is the land navigation course. Immediately following the APFT on the first day of testing, candidates begin the 4,500-meter land navigation course where they must locate three out of four points using only a map, compass and protractor. Candidates must complete the course in less than three hours. The course is then repeated at night, where candidates must meet the same standards in the dark.
The road march is the last event of the competition and the last of the three events which cannot be retried. Candidates carry 35 pounds of gear, not including water, for 12 miles and must complete it in less than three hours. At the end of the march, candidates encounter “Operation Bull,” a simulated mass casualty event where the candidate must treat a wounded Soldier and transport them to a medical evacuation site.
Prior to the testing phase, candidates spend a week training for each of the events with EIB-qualified cadre. In order to compete in the EIB, candidates must meet two criteria: hold an 11-series Military Occupational Specialty and qualify expert on the M4 rifle. To be considered an expert marksmen, candidates must hit at least 36 out of 40 targets.
Master Sgt. Jason Nelson, assistant operations Non-Commissioned Officer for Headquarters, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and the Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge of the Red Bulls at Camp Blanding, says EIB candidates have to be self-motivated to be successful at this course.
“They have to want to be here,” Nelson said. “This is something they do on their own; this is an individual task.”
Unlike many Army training events which require Soldiers to work as a team, the EIB tests candidates independently. Often, as on the land navigation course, Soldiers working together could get them each disqualified.
In addition to challenging Soldiers individually, Nelson said the EIB is a good opportunity for Soldiers to learn and exercise skills they may not use on a daily basis, and to take those skills back to their units and train the next generation of infantry Soldiers.
For five of the Iowa Red Bull candidates, the Florida course was a success.
1st Lt. Andrew Tindall with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, of Waterloo, Iowa; Sgt. Samuel Johnson with Company C, 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry, of Johnston, Iowa; Spc. Timothy Grover with Troop C, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry, of Le Mars, Iowa; Spc. Joshua Lansink with Company D, 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry, of Denison, Iowa; and Spc. Benjamin Pritchard with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, of Waterloo, earned the EIB while at Camp Blanding.
After two weeks in the Florida sun and five days of rigorous testing, Johnson said he was mostly tired, but also proud.
“It's not a badge you just get handed, you definitely earn it,” Johnson said, “So, I'm very proud of it.”
Of the 29 Red Bulls who attempted the badge, approximately 21 percent were able to bring it home, beating the course average of 18 percent.
“It's a very small community,” Warrington said of the elite infantrymen sporting the signature infantry-blue badge. He hopes to have enough Soldiers trained to host an EIB course in Iowa within the next two to three years.
Currently, Warrington said, he believes there are approximately 40 EIB-qualified Soldiers in the Iowa National Guard. “We'll continue to look for different opportunities to send our Soldiers through this training.”
Until then, Iowa welcomes its five newest Expert Infantry Badge recipients.
| Date Taken: | 04.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 04.11.2017 11:29 |
| Story ID: | 229962 |
| Location: | JOHNSTON, IA, US |
| Hometown: | DENISON, IA, US |
| Hometown: | LE MARS, IA, US |
| Hometown: | WATERLOO, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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