Fort Drum, N.Y. -- "Warfare has always been a battle of wills," said Col. Scott Naumann, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), "with the most dedicated and the persistent reigning victorious."
Two hundred eighteen Soldiers from across the Warrior Brigade listened to these words during a ceremony Friday on Magrath Field, where each was presented with the prestigious Expert Infantryman Badge.
Dedication and persistence are key during the mentally and physically draining testing that is EIB.
"EIB was one challenge I needed to meet," said Sgt. Jacques Champagne, a member of A Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, who earned the badge after three previous unsuccessful attempts.
Introduced in 1944 by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Marshall, the EIB represents the U.S. infantry's tough, hard-hitting role in combat and symbolizes proficiency in the infantry arts, according to the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence website.
"(The EIB) sets a high standard for all infantrymen to reach, giving each and every one of us a purpose to succeed," said Spc. Nicholas Wiedner, a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment.
Six hundred seventy-five EIB candidates began this latest test cycle on Aug. 15, starting with an Army physical fitness test, followed by day and night land navigation exercises on the first day.
The next three days put the candidates through their paces on 30 individual testing stations broken down into weapons, patrolling and medical lanes.
The 233 remaining candidates stepped off at 5 a.m. Friday for a 12-mile ruck march, followed by "Objective Bull," where they each evaluated a simulated casualty, applying a tourniquet and then moving the casualty out of harm's way.
Sixty-two Soldiers rose to the top and were pronounced "True Blue," meaning that they completed the entire week's events with no faults in their performance, earning the Army Achievement Medal in addition to the EIB.
Second Lt. Andrew Owen, a rifle platoon leader with A Company, 1-87 Infantry, was the first to complete all of the requirements, with a time of 2:19 on the ruck march and qualifying as True Blue.
EIB preparation spanned several months and setting up the site itself went back three weeks with materiel being delivered, operations centers emplaced, and the graders and lanes themselves being tested and validated by instructors from the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga.
The entire event was NCO-led.
One hundred thirty-seven noncommissioned officers, all EIB bearers, served as cadre and led an even larger support staff to produce this world-class event.
"It's individual training," said Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Rose, 1st BCT senior enlisted adviser, "which is the NCO's bread and butter."
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