E3B: An Exercise in Excellence

FORT CUSTER TRAINING CENTER, Mich. - It was a historic week for 13 Iowa National Guard Soldiers at Fort Custer Training Center in Augusta, Michigan, as testing for the first National Guard E3B competition commenced. E3B is a multiweek training event, culminating in five days of strictly graded evaluations where Soldiers put their skills and training to the test to earn one of three expert badges: the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB), the Expert Soldier Badge (ESB) or the Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB).

E3B is designed to hone and subsequently test mastery of skills that will be used in a deployed environment. Readiness is an essential theme of the event as Soldiers are assessed on a variety of warrior tasks, including land navigation, weapons proficiency, physical fitness as well as tactical combat casualty care skills.

"When you're in a high-stress environment, you're going to revert to your base-level training," said 1st Sgt. Daniel Ash, a badge holder and NCOIC for station two at E3B. "From training and practicing, Soldiers have the muscle memory down, and that's what's going to save lives in a combat scenario," he continued.

Most candidates do not get their badge on the first try. In fact, it often takes two or even three attempts. Earning a badge is an elusive and hard-earned honor, with approximately 20% of candidates on any given rotation making it to the end to see a badge pinned on their chest. Regardless, even Soldiers who don't receive a badge not only display fortitude and grit but also gain extremely valuable knowledge that they can take back to their home units and share with their formation, strengthening the Army as a whole.

Soldiers are competing here, but not against each other. The Soldiers, referred to as "candidates" while taking part in the competition, are competing with themselves. It is as much a strain of mental endurance as it is physical, and arguably more so. Soldiers can work together and our encouraged to do so leading up to their evaluations, to check on each other, to give each other useful tips, and to take part in the type of camaraderie that an event like this builds between Soldiers. Testing, however, is on the individual. It is up to each and every Soldier to know what they need to do to get a "go" at every station and move on.

"Here you have to get it in sequence, per the standard," explained Capt. Ryan LaFave, a badged cadre member from the Iowa Army National Guard, who served as a lane officer in charge (OIC) during E3B. "If you don't get it 100%, you're going to be a 'no-go.' They have to know the steps, verbatim, to be able to pass," he stated.

Candidates are not simply thrown straight into testing during E3B. A total of 178 candidates from 10 states and one foreign counterpart arrived weeks in advance of testing. These weeks were spent training, getting countless repetitions on the skills that they are to be closely scrutinized on. This training is merely meant to be a refresher, though. The difference between a candidate who earns a badge and one who doesn't is arriving at Fort Custer Training Center already prepared, already knowing the standard.

"The successful candidate will show up 90% ready, for everything," said Ash. "Coming here with that 90% solution allows us to give you that extra 10%," he went on to say.

Mastering the basics is the core tenet of this event. To deliver the utmost lethality that is required of an infantryman. To provide lifesaving measures in intense conditions as a combat medic. To answer the call and do whatever task is asked of a Soldier. To be always ready. That is the goal of E3B: to train the next generation of badge holders who will then train the next generation of warfighters.

"I really appreciate the opportunity to earn this badge," stated Sgt. Spencer Gull, an infantryman from Garnavillo, Iowa, who was one of two Iowa candidates to earn the Expert Infantryman Badge. "The slots in the National Guard are very limited, so I very much appreciate my unit for selecting me to be one of the Iowa representatives."