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THE EXPERTS --
2-116th soldiers form up to receive the coveted Expert
Infantry Badge. (Click to enlarge photo)
Related 2-116 stories in the latest edition of the
WIRE |
GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA -- Soldiers from the 2nd
Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, Stonewall Brigade, recently
conducted testing of the Expert Infantry Badge for the first time in Cuba’s
history.
The Expert Infantryman’s Badge, or EIB, is
the mark of distinction for an Infantry soldier. To earn the coveted badge,
soldiers must complete four pre-requisites before they can begin testing:
Fire expert with an M16 rifle, score at least 70 percent in each of the
three events of the Army physical fitness test, pass a day and night land
navigation test, and complete a 12-mile road march with full gear and
rucksack in less than three hours. Then they begin the 32 tasks focused on
Infantry skills.
“This is the first time an EIB has ever been
done here,” said Lt. Col. Tom Wilkinson, the battalion commander. “This
badge will have an added meaning to the soldiers, knowing that they are the
only ones to wear a badge that was earned in a Communist country.”
A total of 31 soldiers passed all the
pre-requisites and began the testing. After the last test station, only 12
remained. Soldiers receive a “GO” or “No GO” as they complete each task to
standard by time. If they fail a task, they are allowed to retest. If a
soldier fails the same task twice, he is out. If he fails three separate
tasks once, he is out.
“It is extremely stressfull,” said Sgt. Joe
Lake, an instructor and tester from Company B. “The level of stress is
incredible, and the longer you stay in the process the greater the stress
becomes.”
The 12 soldiers who earned the coveted badge are:
| PFC Jerry
Andes Company C, Harrisonburg |
SPC Michael
Mayhew Company A, Charlottesville |
| PFC
Matthew Bulloch Company A, Charlottesville |
SPC
Anthony Nichols Company A, Charlottesville |
| CPT
Joe DiNonno Company A, Charlottesville |
SPC Shawn
Powell Company A, Charlottesville |
| SPC Donald
Evans Company B, Lexington |
SGT John
Rothmann Company A, Charlottesville |
| LT Nathan
Golden Company C, Harrisonburg |
LT
Chris Samulski Company A, Lynchburg |
| SPC
Caleb Marden Company A, Charlottesville |
SPC John
Shillingburg Company B, Lexington |
The
Battalion mobilized on November 1, 2002 in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom. They trained at their mobilization station of Fort Bragg before
deploying to Cuba in early December. The unit is scheduled to return home
in September.
--LTC
CHESTER C CARTER III, Virginia Army National Guard
http://www.virginiaguard.com
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