JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD – Infantry Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, will be conducting Expert Infantry Badge training and testing on Joint Base Lewis McChord beginning, April 23, and ending Friday, April 26.
During the testing phase, which will occur Tuesday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., media will have the opportunity to observe U.S. Army infantry Soldiers complete tough, realistic training in an environment that is mirrored to what Infantryman may see on the battlefield; the training includes the use of blank rounds and simulated combat scenarios. The test consists of a total of 30 possible individual tasks.
At the conclusion of EIB testing on Friday, which will start with a 12-mile road march, those infantrymen who met all requirements are awarded the EIB.
In 1944, Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall initiated the development of an award to honor the U.S. Army Infantryman. The Office of Heraldic Activity of the Quartermaster General began work on designing a badge that would represent the U.S. Infantry’s tough, hard hitting role in combat and symbolize proficiency in the Infantry arts.
Just as the Combat Infantryman Badge was intended to be an award for those U.S. fighting men whose primary mission was to close with and destroy the enemy, the Expert Infantryman Badge was instituted to build and maintain esprit de corps within U.S. Infantry units. The intent of the EIB was to provide a drawing card for a tough and thankless job on the battlefield.