Photo By Sgt. Elaina Nieves | U.S. Army soldiers receive their Expert Soldier Badges from senior leaders during the...... read more read more
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CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – Service members from across the United States Army National Guard completed the annual Expert Soldier Badge (E2B) evaluation program here last month, testing technical proficiency and physical endurance for the Expert Infantry Badge (EIB) and Expert Soldier Badge (ESB). The unified program validates tactical competence and warrior tasks across diverse military occupational specialties, establishing an identical standard of combat readiness for infantry and non-infantry personnel.
The weapons lane portion of E2B served as a primary focal point, testing candidates on crew-served and individual weapon systems.
"The weapons lane as a whole is important because it really stresses warfighting readiness," said 1st Lt. Phil Craig, a grader from the Indiana Army National Guard. "With large-scale combat operations, this is the ultimate way to measure an infantryman's or soldier's ability to perform the 10-level basics." Craig oversaw the M2 .50-caliber machine gun station, which required candidates to clear the weapon, perform immediate action to fix a malfunction, unload, and clear the system under strict time limits. Candidates underwent 30 hours of pre-training over the weapons lane, averaging three hours per weapon for each soldier. Craig emphasized that utilizing available practice time was the primary success factor for the final test.
"The way to succeed is just to try during the practice," Craig noted. "A lot of people don't try that much. They kind of are tired, they want to lay down, take a nap. Just use all that time to train. Those are the people we're seeing succeed on this final day."
In addition to the weapons lane, the medical lane forced candidates to execute 10 individual stations that tested critical tactical combat casualty care, including applying occlusive dressings, performing needle decompressions, and executing care under fire.
"If you're going to be focusing an awful lot on weapons and patrols in an offensive posture, you have to be able to understand that you're going to take casualties and have to care for them and keep people in the fight," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Jardinski, assigned to the 898th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Washington Army National Guard. "It sets a tone when you first meet somebody that you know this person performs well under pressure, they know their basic tasks, and they're able to learn and adapt quickly to new information."
Unit preparation began nearly a year in advance, with individual states incorporating E2B education into inactive duty training (IDT) drill weekends eight months prior to the event. Upon arrival at Camp Murray, candidates completed a diagnostic expert physical fitness assessment (EPFA) and a diagnostic land navigation course, followed by five days of structured lane trainings and two days of command instruction.
Earning the badge awards up to 60 promotion points for infantrymen, improves competitiveness for Active Guard Reserve (AGR) positions, and yields military awards. Jardinski noted the steep learning curve and advised future candidates to prepare early using available resources.
"There are E-3s out here who are grading and there are sergeant majors out here who are here to get their badges," Jardinski said. "It’s never too early, and it’s never too late. I would encourage you to get the EIB handbook. You can access that online, and now you can start reading over the tasks, conditions, and standards for all of these stations way ahead of time."
The 2026 E2B evaluation reinforced individual lethality and stands as a definitive marker of professional excellence across the force.
| Date Taken: | 06.28.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2026 03:16 |
| Story ID: | 570265 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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