U.S. Army NATO Soldier first to receive new Master Combat Badge

INNSWORTH, England – A U.S. Soldier assigned to NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps headquartered here in Imjin Barracks became the first U.S. Army NATO Soldier awarded the new Master Combat Infantryman Badge on April 22.

In October, the Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer announced three new badges would be authorized for Soldiers who earned a combat badge and an expert badge. The other two badges are the Master Combat Action Badge and the Master Combat Medical Badge.

Maj. Peter Preisinger, a planning officer with the ARRC’s J9, earned the Expert Infantryman Badge in 2008 while assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), and received his Combat Infantryman Badge for his service in 2010 as a platoon leader with the 10th Mountain Division’s Company A, 2nd Bn., 4th Infantry Regt. in Afghanistan.

The two badges combined made him eligible for a retroactive award of the Master Combat Infantryman Badge according to MILPER Message 25-093.

“Our legal advisor, Maj. (David) Derochick, shared the information on the MILPER with me,” said Preisinger. “The message actually contains the step-by-step instructions to submit for any of the Master Combat Badges.

“All you have to do is submit a PAR (Personnel Action Request) in IPPS-A (Integrated Personnel and Pay System - Army) and upload the copies of the orders for both your expert and combat badges.

“It is honestly one of the simplest submission processes I have ever encountered in the U.S. Army.”

Preisinger said he thinks the introduction of the three new badges will help to highlight the training value associated with the expert badges for infantry, medics and Soldiers.

“Participating in the EIB as a junior Soldier forced me to truly master the critical tasks associated with my MOS (military occupational specialty),” said Preisinger. “I remember the pressure of completing tasks to an exact standard while an NCO with a stopwatch graded me.

“I suppose it makes me sound old, but in my year groups, everyone wanted to earn a CIB, and I think a majority of infantrymen did get that opportunity,” he said. “As soon as you earned a CIB, you wore that instead of the EIB and there was no recognition of that previous effort.

“The only time you would see EIBs was during the weeks of EIB testing when all the graders would wear a full color pin-on EIB over their CIBs.

“Letting Soldiers highlight that they have earned both awards will ensure that the achievement of earning an EIB is recognized, even if you have also received a CIB.

“Hopefully it will encourage more Soldiers to put in the preparation work to ensure that they can succeed if given the opportunity to test for the EIB.”

Preisinger said he encourages young Soldiers to make the most of every opportunity the Army offers.

“Getting to serve our nation is a privilege and an honor,” he said. “It requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but it also provides so many opportunities and experiences that the majority of our citizens may never know.

“The Army can let you see the world, meet people and become friends with folks you never would have met at home, and improve yourself through training, education, mentorship and responsibility.

“You don’t have to stay in until retirement, but you should take every opportunity to grow, learn, and improve yourself so that you can be a better Soldier, friend, family member, and citizen for the rest of your life.”