More than 300 Soldiers gathered Monday hoping to earn their Expert Infantryman Badge. By the end of the day, which included a physical fitness test and day and night land navigation, fewer than 200 were left standing.

By the end of the week, less than half of the original 317 will succeed in earning the badge, said SGM Derek McCrea, operations sergeant major for the 197th Infantry Brigade

"It's a very challenging badge to earn," McCrea said. "The Expert Infantryman Badge is the sign of an expert Infantry Soldier. They're not just able to accomplish (Infantry) tasks; they are able to accomplish those tasks to a high standard in a stressful environment. The NCOs who earn their EIB are out there grading the test, and they're going to grade you to standard. You have to do it right."

McCrea said it took him four

times to earn his EIB.

"Every leader strives to earn the Expert Infantryman Badge to set an example for their Soldiers," he said. "It's a major accomplishment in a Infantry Soldier's career."

Soldiers finish testing today with a 12-mile foot march, one of the most grueling tasks of the week, McCrea said.

That foot march is what kept CPT Patrick Sleem, who was just a few minutes shy of the time limit, from earning his badge five years ago.

"We take everything very seriously because anything can get you knocked out," he said.

Since the tasks are more battle-focused this year, testing for the badge is also "training you can really get something out of," said Sleem, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment.

"You're going through the tasks and doing them as you would in a combat environment," he said. "It makes sense because it's training you realistically."

This is the first time Fort Benning has created a new standard to make testing for the badge simulate combat scenarios, McCrea said.

In the past, Soldiers had 30 separate tasks to complete, such as applying a tourniquet or operating a radio. They would study for that one task, complete it and move on to the next.

Now, the testing includes three lanes, an urban lane, patrol lane and traffic control point, with 10 tasks that can change based on the situation.

They show up to the station, receive an order and execute, McCrea said. They can't memorize 10 separate tasks in a row, so they have to make decisions based on conditions they face, just as they do in combat.

"I'm glad they're doing it like this," said SSG Michael Cugino, 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment, who is trying for the badge for the first time. "With the Army going to outcome based training, it's better to do it like this instead of the way it used to be with route steps."

Cugino said the EIB shows that an Infantryman thoroughly knows his job.

"An EIB separates you from your peers," he said. "It shows that you're not just doing your job. You're doing extra to set yourself apart."

The EIB, also known as the non-combat equivalent to the Combat Infantryman Badge, was created in 1944 to honor the U.S. Army Infantry Soldier. An 18th-century musket set against an Infantry blue background, the badge is "where it all starts from," said SFC Santino Sims, 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment.

As an Infantryman, wearing the badge is matter of pride and honor, said Sims, who is on his third try to earn the EIB.

"That's my main focus. Nothing else matters right now," he said. "As a senior noncommissioned officer, you're going to lead your troops and teach them the basics. To have them look up to you and trust you, to me, that badge should be a standard."

The badge will be presented today to Soldiers from the 192nd, 197th, 198th and 199th Infantry brigades, the NCO Academy, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team and the Warrior Training Center who successfully complete the testing.