Battle Buddies Strengthen Combat Skills and Friendship during Expert Soldier Badge Competition

Photo By Sgt. Nicole Branch | Spc. Chad Kniaz and Spc. Lal Thang, Soldiers from 1-17 Infantry Battalion earned their Expert Soldier Badges after weeks of training and testing at Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA on Nov 6 2019. “Since he was going to try, I had to try too." says SPC Thang, "I couldn’t let him show me up like that” Thang then joked.  

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, UNITED STATES

11.06.2019

Courtesy Story

2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington – The Expert Infantrymen Badge train-up and testing is a predictable annual event exclusive to infantrymen. This year’s addition of the Expert Soldier Badge opened an amazing opportunity for hundreds of Soldiers to gain additional combat training and perfect their craft. For a pair of Cavalry Scouts, it strengthened a life-lasting friendship.

Spc. Chad Kniaz and Spc. Lal Thang both arrived at 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment’s Reconnaissance Platoon in 2017. They both enjoyed the high performing and competitive atmosphere of the platoon. “Everyone pushes each other to get better. It makes things fun and challenging” explained Thang.

When the opportunity for the ESB arrived, both eagerly volunteered. Kniaz said, “The ESB is brand new, so when I heard that I could be one of the first Soldiers to get it, I knew I had to try.”

“Since he was going to try, I had to try too. I couldn’t let him show me up like that” Thang then joked.

Before testing to receive their badges, Thang and Kniaz had to pass a physical fitness test, and then complete four weeks preparing for more than 30 validation lanes.

Arriving each morning before dawn, they rucked two miles with their combat gear to the training site. They spent each day practicing some of the thirty ESB Tasks or land navigation. The setting sun found them donning the rucks again to walk the two miles back to their headquarters before turning in weapons and trying to get some sleep before the next day.

“It was hard. Especially when it rained, or on the last week when it was just cold all day long. I think that’s when having a friend there made all the difference” said Kniaz.

Thang described how the two began to compete at tasks. “If he did perfect on the range card lane, then I had to beat him on the Claymore lane. It kept our spirits up and made us work harder to learn everything.” said Thang.

“Test week is hard because there’s no room for error. It’s not so hard to do one task right, but task after task you have to be perfect, and there’s a lot of pressure,” explained Kniaz. “Lots of people failed on the first day and it really made you wonder if you could do it. But if he could do it, I could do it and we just stuck together like that.”

Their teamwork paid off, as they passed the final test event and were among the first junior enlisted Soldiers to be awarded the ESB, Oct. 31.

“Now that it’s finished, I realize how much training we actually got. I feel way more confident in the tasks, but it was also cool to be able to go through it all with a guy who I know has my back,” said Kniaz.

• Date Taken: 11.06.2019
• Date Posted: 11.22.2019 14:23
• Story ID: 353090
• Location: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US