Courtesy Photo | German proficiency badge awardees pose for pictures following a pinning ceremony Nov....... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (Dec. 5, 2019) -- Having demonstrated their tenacity and fighting skills, 45 Fort Lee Soldiers and others stood proudly in a Bunker Hall auditorium on the Army Logistics University campus Nov. 22 to be recognized with the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency.
The ceremony was the symbolic closeout of a nine-day qualification trial that included a 100-meter swim, a first aid course, a rifle range, a 3.7-7.4-mile ruck march and other challenges. The awardees included members of foreign services, the Virginia National Guard and Va. State University ROTC.
Lt. Col. Peter Stubakow, chief of the German Liaison Office here, and Sgt. Maj. Ronald Schiller, his senior enlisted advisor, presented the awards.
“I was impressed by everyone who participated, even if they failed to meet the qualification scores,” Stubakow acknowledged. “These people are willing to face these conditions and tests without knowing if they will succeed. This is the kind of Soldier we need – someone who is not scared to fail.”
GAFPB testing incorporates a mix of field and fitness events over several days that are designed to test basic soldiering skills. Performance and scoring is in accordance with Bundeswehr (German Army) standards.
“Beyond the prestige of earning the badge, I think a big reason people want to compete is they want to see if they meet the same standard as other forces,” Stubakow said. “Also – I’ve seen this on the German side – they are keen to want badges other than (those every other Soldier can earn). When it is worn on the uniform, it says to everybody, ‘I’m a little bit different, and I’m capable of more than you,’ the guy who doesn’t have this badge.”
Fifteen entrants earned gold medal, 27 came away with silver and three were presented bronze. ALU 2nd Lt. Mary Sinnott achieved the highest score.
Staff Sgt. Brad Lemke, Medical Department Activity, was among those awarded silver.
“I think it is a great honor to earn a foreign national badge,” he confirmed.
Lemke said he first heard about the GAFPB in 2015 while assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., and aspired to give it a shot once learning it was administered here. One can easily take the competition for granted, he added.
“There wasn’t any one aspect of the competition than was more challenging than other parts,” said Lemke. “I think the entire thing is challenging. I think if you go out there expecting to do any of it with ease you’re going to fool yourself.”
The swim, first on the list of events, set the tone for the level of difficulty, Lemke recalled. “Anyone can jump in a pool and kind of float around all day without getting tired, but you have to do (the GAFPB event) in a certain amount of time and in uniform.”
The swim test also includes a requirement to remove clothing items in the pool without touching the sides, Schiller noted.
Competitors tend to underestimate the weight of their uniforms when soaked and wet, and the drag of the water pulling on the fabric, Lemke said.
Among other GAFPB events that “complicated the qualification equation,” according to the Kenner Army Health Clinic Soldier, was the laborious and awkward flex arm hang and two sprinting events that had to be completed within specified time limits. “All of those things kind of add up over the course of a few days and takes a toll on you,” he observed.
That point was proved by the outcome. Twenty-nine people did not receive medals.
The ALU event was the second GAFPB administered in the past month. Several are in the works for next year. For more information, call 804-734-2421.
| Date Taken: | 12.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 12.05.2019 11:49 |
| Story ID: | 354408 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 163 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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