Ten Team Redstone Soldiers participated in qualifying tests for the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency Dec. 1-2.
"The facilities here are outstanding and so is the cadre," Sgt. Maj. Michael Kern of the Armed Forces of Germany said. "The Soldiers who participated were outstanding and they're motivated. That's what I really like."
"Earning a foreign badge is a rare opportunity," said Maj. Curt Schultheis, commander of AMCOM HHC. "In addition, this event is a morale boost for our Soldiers. Giving them an opportunity to compete for a badge like this gives them pride in their physical abilities."
Schultheis earned the German badge at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
With interest from both AMCOM and Army Materiel Command Soldiers, "we decided to run the qualifying tests here as a proof of concept," Schultheis said.
"We wanted to see if we could do this at Redstone Arsenal. We wanted to ensure we had the resources at our disposal and that they met with the approval of Sgt. Maj. Kern."
In addition, the proof of concept provided training for support cadre who would be required to assist with setting up and managing the events for a much larger group of Soldiers, Schultheis said.
To qualify for the badge, Soldiers must earn points during the evaluations conducted by an official German evaluator. Kern, who is stationed at Fort Rucker as part of its German liaison staff, conducts evaluations for the badge at active duty installations, and for National Guard and Reserve units as well as for ROTC programs throughout the southeast.
"In Germany, this is a year-long event," Kern said. "Soldiers can attend any qualifying test at any given time during the year. Once they complete all the tests, they earn the badge. During that year, they can repeat events to fulfill all the requirements.
"But, here, since we don't have large groups of U.S. Soldiers at any one installation working for the badge, I will schedule a weekend or two or three days during the week to conduct the events on-site. The Soldiers have to complete the NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) and combat life saver course requirements prior to the two-day event."
In that way, qualifying for the badge is more difficult in the U.S., where Soldiers have to complete multiple tests on the same day while continuing to complete their mission during both their preparation time and their testing time.
"The band Soldiers still had to go out and perform, and the AMCOM Soldiers still had their mission requirements," Schultheis said. "Participating in this speaks volumes about their determination."
Soldiers were required to complete three basic tests -- the 11-x-10 meter sprint in a maximum of 60 seconds, the flexed-arm hang (chin-up hold) for a minimum of five seconds, the 1,000 meter run in a maximum of six minutes and 30 seconds -- along with military training tests to include the 100 meter swim in uniform under four minutes, combat life saver training test; Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Mission Oriented Protective Posture test; pistol qualifications; and road march.
Soldiers had to qualify with the M11 at five hits for the gold, four hits for the silver and three hits for the bronze, and road march for 7.5 miles for the gold, 5.6 miles for the silver and 3.75 miles for the bronze.
The following Soldiers qualified for the German badge: Staff Sgt. Jeremy Baharloui, Sgt. Mara Manning, Sgt. Michael Darcy, Sgt. Adam Walton, Sgt. Robert Manning, Spec. David Dorfman and
Sgt. Noah Crossley, all of the AMC Band; First Sgt. Lee Dalton, AMCOM Headquarters and Headquarters Co.; and Maj. Paul Carlson and Capt. Austin Cheng, both of AMCOM Legal. Baharloui and Mara Manning qualified for the gold level badge. Darcy, Walton, Robert Manning, Dorfman, Crossley, Dalton and Carlson qualified for the silver. The tenth Soldier -- Capt. Austin Cheng -- will retake the 100 meter swim test to shave off four seconds in an effort to qualify for the gold level badge.
"They were given the tasks and the standards, and they knew what was expected," Schultheis said. "Their job was to prepare themselves mentally and physically for the tests. They knew we were doing all these tests in two days and they knew they would have to have the stamina to complete them. It was truly a test of their will."
Mara Manning, who plays the euphonium in the AMC band, did a lot of running to prepare for the tests, and it paid off.
"I practiced a lot because I was hoping to go for the gold," she said. "I am proud of myself that I could do it and get the gold. It was important to me because I love challenging myself in new ways, and it was a great opportunity to see how the German army does their fitness training.
For Manning and fellow Soldier Baharloui, who both obtained the gold, reaching their goal came down to the last event -- hitting all five shots in the pistol qualification.
"It was nerve wracking," Baharloui said. "This has always been something I wanted to achieve. And, achieving this goal with other Soldiers from my team made it even better. I got to watch us improve when we practiced together and I got to see all us do so well."
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