Photo By Winifred Brown | Sgt. Tervon Moore, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Wendy Brown
Fort Bliss Garrison Public Affairs
It took Sgt. 1st Class Robert Madison three tries before he earned his Expert Infantryman Badge in 2002, and now that he is a grader for the test, he has some sage advice for Soldiers hoping to pin on the prestigious badge.
“I failed many times,” said Madison, assigned to 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. “Just keep trying. You’re going to succeed. It’s determination … If you want it bad enough, you can get it, just like anything else.”
Madison was the noncommissioned officer in charge of the MK 19 grenade launcher station as roughly 1,000 infantry Soldiers gathered at the Forward Operating Base Endeavor training area at Fort Bliss Friday to train for the upcoming EIB testing that will begin here Feb. 5. The training continues this week.
Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Allen, operations sergeant major, 4th Bn., 17th Inf. Regt., 1st BCT, 1st AD, said the training gives Soldiers a chance to hone their skills on the 30 stations they will face during the test. The stations range from weapons lanes to medical lanes to patrol lanes and more. The test will also include an Army Physical Fitness Test, a 12-mile foot march and day and night land navigation.
“They get evaluated on every task and they must get a go on every station,” Allen said. “They can get no-gos, but they have to go back and retest and get a go. So on their third no-go they can’t get their EIB.”
Usually, only 5 to 8 percent of candidates receive their EIB after the test, Allen said.
The testing and training, however, are beneficial for all Soldiers who try to earn the EIB, Allen said.
“Soldiers need to learn their Skill Level One tasks, such as call for fire,” Allen said. “It helps the unit out that this is a big event. It trains everybody, so they don’t have to do an event that would do the same thing. All their training that they conduct every year can be done at this site. So when they go to the field and they can start doing squad and platoon live fires, the Soldiers actually understand what they need to do when they’re out there.”
Staff Sgt. Derrick Stevenson, NCOIC of the request medical evacuation station Friday, said the training refreshes important skills all Soldiers need to know.
“Every Soldier, from the newest private to the most senior Soldier, needs to be able to send up a medevac as soon as possible, so this is one of those things where it’s not dependent on the sergeant to understand everything; everybody must know how to do this,” Stevenson said.
Spc. Calvin Brown, assigned to 4th Bn., 17th Inf. Regiment, 1st BCT, 1st AD, said he appreciates all the help Soldiers such as Stevenson and Madison were giving to Soldiers such as himself who had not yet earned the badge.
“This is my first attempt at the EIB,” Brown said, “and hopefully it’s my last as well.”
Brown said he expects some of the weapons systems he doesn’t use often to challenge him, but he was grateful for the opportunity to practice with them before the test and learn as much as possible. He acknowledges he is going to have to study hard.
“It’s as much as you put into it,” Brown said.
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2018 14:46 |
| Story ID: | 264286 |
| Location: | TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Infantry Soldiers prep for EIB, by Winifred Brown, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
