Photo By Jean Graves | Capt. Carolyn Shorter from William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas,...... read more read more
FORT POLK, La. — Competition begins today at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk for 35 Soldiers from around the Army seeking the privilege to wear the Expert Field Medical Badge.
Set up and validation for the EFMB competition began May 10 as badge holders from across the Army were identified to validate, conduct and evaluate this event in accordance with the Army Medical Center of Excellence Pamphlet 350-10. This year the competition is being held in conjunction with the Expert Infantry and Expert Soldier Badge competitions hosted by the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. The physical fitness testing, day and night land navigation, final road march and graduation will be conducted simultaneously.
Capt. Kelly Degler, chief nurse in charge of the post anesthesia care unit at Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, is the officer in charge of this year’s EFMB competition. A former combat medic, Degler earned the EFMB in 1998.
“The EFMB is a mark of excellence. Soldiers in any medical occupational specialty or area of concentration can attempt to earn the badge,” he said. “The EFMB is a coveted award because less than 10% of all Army Medical Department personnel has earned it.”
Degler said the set up and concept of conducting the EFMB in conjunction with EIB and ESB is new and a first for JRTC and Fort Polk. Combining all three events allows EIB and ESB graders to evaluate EFMB candidates on common warrior tasks.
Master Sgt. Yu Rhee, a combat medic from Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Texas, is a test coordinator for this competition and helped validate each station, test and lane for standardization.
“Prerequisites for EFMB candidates include qualifying expert on your assigned weapon, earning 80 percent or more in each event on the Army Physical Fitness Test and passing a written exam,” he said. “There were 160 individuals who wanted to participate in this week’s competition, only 35 passed the online exam prior to attending. Conducting the test in advance of the competition saves the Army money and ensures only the most prepared candidates show up for these events”
Rhee said EFMB testing is the ultimate challenge of the professional competence and physical endurance of the Soldier medic. It is the most sought after peacetime award in AMEDD.
“Having the intestinal fortitude to even try for the badge says a lot about a Soldier,” Rhee said. “Achieving the badge is a very significant accomplishment. For motivated Soldiers seeing the EFMB badge on others’ uniforms is a daily reminder that to do well in the Army they should try to earn the badge,”
Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Williams, BJACH Emergency Department noncommissioned officer-in-charge, said JRTC and Fort Polk has a U.S. Army Forces Command requirement to host an EFMB competition annually.
“Because there are so few badge holders across the Army, we had to bring in badge holders from other units on and off the installation to help us conduct this event,” he said. “Unlike the Combat Medical Badge that recognizes heroism in battle, the EFMB recognizes expertise and competencies in the medical field; academically, medically, physical fitness and warrior tasks.”
Williams said there are competitors from 15 different duty stations along with members of the Louisiana and Mississippi National Guard participating in this week’s competition.
Capt. Alyssa Schlegel, EFMB test coordinator for the Army Medical Center of Excellence, is the final validator of each competition to ensure standardization and compliance with MEDCoE Pam 350-10. She said the team at JRTC and Fort Polk is conducting a pilot that is different in structure and execution of EFMBs conducted in the past. The new structure includes station testing for all but the medical tasks versus combat testing lanes that combined both warrior and medical tasks.
“As a whole the team is doing a phenomenal job here at Fort Polk,” Schlegel said. “They are extremely dedicated to mastering their tasks and being the best instructors they can be for the candidates.”
First Sgt. Joseph Hagen, senior enlisted advisor, 32nd Hospital Center, said getting this badge as a junior enlisted Soldier will set them apart from their peers when it comes to promotions and assignments.
“Numerous badge holders from a variety of organizations around Fort Polk and other installations have come together to put this together, it kind of takes a village to run this,” he said. “32nd HC has several badge holders supporting the event as cadre along with our equipment and we have five Soldiers competing to earn the badge this week. It truly takes all of us working together to produce a great event to make JRTC and Fort Polk the premiere training center that it is.”
The competitors have been on station for ten days familiarizing themselves with each event. With rain, humidity and temperatures over 90 degrees most days each competitor has the drive and determination to do what so many others cannot.
“The EFMB symbolizes the portrait of excellence that automatically garners respect from our peers in the medical profession,” said Schlegel. “I encourage every candidate to give it their all. It will be challenging. Not everyone will make it but for those who don’t, keep trying. I got my badge on my second attempt. Just being here shows the dedication of each one of these participants to be the best.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2021 09:58 |
| Story ID: | 398831 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 337 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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