“To all Soldiers in units within the Warrior Division: maximize this opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and compete for one of the highly coveted badges,” said the 2nd Infantry Division ROK/U.S. Combined Division Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Franco. “The badges are a mark of excellence of an expert and lethal Soldier.”
Around 950 service members participated in the annual Expert Soldier, Expert Field Medical and Expert Infantry badge competition at Camp Casey, South Korea, April 22-26, 2024.
The competition, known as E3B, was first combined in 2021 so that all three tests could be held simultaneously to compile the resources needed for the events.
The first badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, was created in 1944. This badge was created for infantrymen to demonstrate a mastery of their critical tasks. The Expert Field Medical Badge was developed in 1965 for Army field medical personnel to challenge their skills and performances in a high stress, controlled environment. The latest badge, the Expert Soldier Badge, was developed in 2019. This badge is open to all Soldiers, developed to challenge one's physical fitness and war-fighting skills.
A unique part of this competition being held in South Korea allowed the Republic of Korea Army soldiers to compete for a chance to be awarded one of the coveted expert badges.
“Competing alongside the ROK soldiers was such a great experience,” said Sgt. Natali Gonzalez, an E3B candidate assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 2ID/RUCD. “We would study together during breaks and they were very encouraging throughout the whole competition.”
The first event for each candidate was the Expert Physical Fitness Assessment. Following the EPFA, the candidates had to successfully navigate a day and night land navigation course with several coordinates. Each event dictated a "go" or "no-go”. If any no-go’s were given to a candidate, they were unable to continue with the competition.
The next few days of events were based on the various badges. The EFMB events consisted of a written test, warrior skills lane, evacuation lanes and tactical combat casualty care lanes. The EIB and ESB candidates went through medical, patrol and weapons lanes. Each candidate needed to complete a specified amount of tasks successfully per lane in order to pass these events.
“The previous two times I competed for the EFMB badge, I had been knocked out during the medical lanes so crossing the finish line this time around was a very emotional moment for me,” said Sgt. 1st Class John Lambe, an EFMB badge holder, assigned to Signal, Intelligence, and Sustainment Company, HHBN, 2ID/RUCD. “I was very excited.”
The final event was a 12-mile ruck march ending with an M4 functions check. After that, the contestants gathered for the award ceremony on Robertson Field to be awarded their badges. Of the original 943 candidates, 185 service members earned one of the three coveted badges.
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