Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Tori Barrett | Members of Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Honolulu take a moment for a...... read more read more
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Story by Ensign Eric Juback
It's May 4, 2018. More than 400 soldiers and sailors from across the country are gathered at Schofield Barracks in the mountains of Oahu, Hawaii, to receive the coveted German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency (GAFPB). Among them stood eight distinctly different service members clothed entirely in blue.
Petty Officers 3rd Class Delphina Belmares, Vincenzo Conte, Kevin Headmann, Meri Miller, Andrew Jackson, Petty Officer 2nd Class Caleb Gaudian, and Petty Officer 1st Class Josh Wood, from Maritime Safety and Security Team Honolulu and Petty Officer 3rd Class Cody Proctor from Air Station Barbers Point. All eight members on a quest to hold their own among fellow service members and represent the U.S. Coast Guard.
Since the 1970s, German soldiers are awarded the badge as a way to show others that they have met all the proficiency requirements necessary to be a soldier. Every year, German soldiers are required to take the proficiency test. Failure to meet the criteria means the inability to stay in the German army after two years. The GAFPB is a decoration of the Bundeswehr, the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The honor is available to all German Soldiers. Allied Soldiers may also receive the badge. Rank is not a factor. In the U.S. military, the GAFPB is one of the few approved foreign awards, and it is one of the most sought-after awards to achieve.
Before the start of the qualification, soldiers must meet the following requirements:
Candidates must have a minimum of six months, Time in Service irrespective of Branch of Service.
Candidates must be eligible for reenlistment; not pending punishment under UCMJ; not pending or actively under investigation of any type; not pending any administrative action.
Candidates must be physically fit, able to run competitively, swim and foot-march. Also, candidates must demonstrate the ability to swim in uniform, respond to CBRN attack and operate and qualify with the M‐9 pistol.
Once qualified to participate more than 600 Service members reported at 0600 April 30 to start the first of four events, a 100M swim test at Richardson Pool in full uniform. Given that seven of these eight Coast Guardsmen and women were members of MSST Honolulu this was certain to be the easiest of events. As tactical boat operators, they are required to conduct a water survival swim every six months in uniform; this event was right up their ally. More than 100 service members would fail to complete this event, of course, none of which were U.S. Coast Guard.
May 1, at 0530 it was time for the Basic Fitness Test (BFT), consisting of a 11x10m sprint in 42 Seconds for gold, 48 seconds for silver and 54 seconds for bronze. Holding a chin-up for 65 seconds for gold, 45 seconds for silver and 25 seconds for bronze. And finally, a 1,000-meter run requiring a completion time of 3 minutes and 45 seconds for Gold, 4 minutes 40 seconds for silver and 5 minutes and 35 seconds for bronze. The third event held May 2, started at 0600 and was a 9mm pistol qualification course at Pu’uloa Point Rifle Range. Unlike the Coast Guard’s standard of qualifying with the P229 Sig Sauer, the German rule is training with a 9 mm pistol.
“To qualify you were given five rounds and had to hit two targets, all five rounds were required to hit each specified target for gold, while three rounds are mean silver,” Petty Officer 2nd Class Delphina Belmares explained.
May 3 those remaining arrived for the final event, a 40-pound rucksack foot march, which Petty Officer 1st Class Josh Wood described as “more of a run with a minute or two to stop and catch your breath.”
This final event required the Petty Officers to complete a six-kilometer ruck for bronze in 60 minutes, nine-kilometer for silver in 90 minutes or 12-kilometer in 120 minutes for the gold, This last event tested the members' mental toughness, determination, strength, and stamina.
With the events completed it was time for the results. Of the eight Petty Officers who started the completion all eight finished.
“I wanted to do it to achieve something special for myself, and also for the Coast Guard. It was awesome to see the respect from the other services as we were competing for this honor, and doing well,” said Miller.
Petty Officers Conte, Jackson, Proctor, and Wood took home the Silver German Badge. While Belmares, Gaudian, Headmann, and Miller earned the coveted Gold German Badge.
“I volunteered for the GAFPB for a chance to represent the Coast Guard as well as support my fellow military members. I felt honored as I received my badge. I would encourage Coasties to participate in upcoming years if the opportunity presents itself," said Gaudian.
The Coast Guard was the only branch of Service in which all of its members who started the competition completed it proving that our petty officers are genuinely “Semper Paratus” for any challenge they may face! Bravo Zulu!
| Date Taken: | 05.10.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.26.2018 17:43 |
| Story ID: | 278548 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 650 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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