Photo By Staff Sgt. Cooper Cash | Soldiers push on during the road march portion of the German Armed Forces Badge for...... read more read more
TWINSBURG, Ohio -- Soldiers obtain awards for various acts throughout their careers, but few awards are as sought after or as scarce as those that are foreign. The German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency is earned by meeting minimum requirements in the areas of track and field, swimming, marksmanship and road marching.
The GAFB event is not a regularly occurring event for units near Twinsburg. It would take a soldier who knew how to coordinate it and how earning the badge would benefit those skilled enough to obtain it to bring the event to the area’s soldiers.
“I earned my German Armed Forces Badge during Operation Toy Drop at Fort Bragg, N.C., in December,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ronald D. Fergeson, a career counselor with the with the ARCD from Twinsburg, Ohio. “It inspired me to come back and put on this event for soldiers in Northern Ohio.
The GAFB is only awarded if the tasks are completed under the supervision of a certified German representative.
“I asked Sgt. Maj. Goeb to come up and sponsor the event, because without him it wouldn’t be a valid event,” said Fergeson.
“This event encompasses many skills,” said German Sgt. Maj. Alexander H. Goeb, a German liaison with the 18th Airborne Corps, whom validated all activities in the competition.
The prestige of the GAFB has encouraged soldiers to train rigorously in preparation for the numerous events.
“I was injured in Iraq, and after having surgery and physical therapy I was motivated to get back into good physical condition and compete for the German Armed Forces Badge,” said Maj. Greg Pieper, of A Company, 256th Combat Support Hospital, from Black Lake, Ohio.
Soldiers are authorized to wear one foreign badge on the dress uniform with their commander’s permission.
“This event is pretty nerve-racking because of the fear of failure, but it’s worth it to earn a permanent foreign award,” said Sgt. 1st Class Terry C. Jabbour, a career counselor with the 10th Battalion, Army Reserve Careers Division out of Whitehall, Ohio.
During the track and field portion, soldiers are required to run a 100 meter sprint, long jump or high jump, and shot put or bench press a percentage of their weight.
Swimming aptitude is not usually evaluated in the Army, but to obtain the GAFB soldiers are required to swim 200 meters.
The marksmanship portion is an area soldiers are familiar with. Participants in the event fire five rounds with the M-9 pistol and must hit each of the three targets at least once for the bronze, and hit two of the targets at least twice to earn gold.
During the final event, participants road march with a minimum of a 34 pound ruck-sack seven and a half miles.
“This march was shorter than the Expert Infantryman Badge’s, but was still very challenging,” said Staff Sgt. Kurt L. St John, a recruiter with the United States Army Recruiting Command, out of Cleveland.
The event started with 29 soldiers, and ended with 21 obtaining a GAFB, said Goeb. I would say this event was a success.
| Date Taken: | 07.11.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.12.2010 00:33 |
| Story ID: | 52684 |
| Location: | TWINSBURG, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 1,606 |
| Downloads: | 365 |
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