Expert Infantryman Badge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Expert Infantryman Badge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by United States Army | |
| Type | Badge |
| Awarded for | |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1943 |
| Last awarded | On going |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | NONE |
| Same | (Group 1 badges) CIB - EIB - CAB |
| Next (lower) | (Group 2 badges) CMB - EFMB |
The Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB, is a military badge of the United States Army. It is the non-combat equivalent to the Combat Infantryman Badge. The primary difference between the decorations is the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is awarded for participation in infantry ground combat, while the Expert Infantryman Badge is presented for completion of an approved Army course of testing.
The EIB was first created in October 1943. It is awarded to U.S. Army personnel who hold infantry or special forces military occupational specialities. To be awarded the EIB, the service member must complete a testing phase which is the culmination of weeks of training, leading to a final evaluation period. The EIB test is administered on the average once per year with pass rates usually averaging less than 10 percent, depending on the unit conducting testing.
Personnel who have been awarded both the EIB and the CIB are not authorized to wear both decorations simultaneously. In such cases, the CIB has precedence according to Army Regulation 670-1.
While the CIB may have precedence, many EIB holders choose to wear the EIB instead of the CIB, as the EIB represents a more difficult challenge and true skill in the Infantry, which a CIB does not necessarily reflect.
A similar decoration exists for medical personnel, known as the Expert Field Medical Badge.
[edit] Modern Requirements (2000's)
Army Physical Fitness Test: score at least a 75 in all events for your age group
Land navigation: 2 courses, a day and a night.
Weapon qualification: qualify as an expert on M16/M4 (If a mortarman--11C--must qualify as expert on mortar as well)
Forced road march: complete a 12-mile road march, carrying M16 and 35 lb. load, within three hours
Lane or station testing in individual tasks, graded as pass/fail. Two retests overall are allowed, but all events must be passed.
- First Aid
- Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) procedures
- Employment of indirect fire
- Techniques for camouflage, movement under fire, hand-signalling, range estimation, and reporting contact to higher headquarters
- Communications: competency with field radios and procedures
- Map reading
- Weapons proficiency: load, unload, preform functions checks, clear, correct malfunctions, etc. for M9, M16/M4, M203, M249, M240B, M60, M2, Mk 19, AT4, Javelin; employ hand grenades, the Claymore, and anti-tank mines
- Proficiency with night vision devices
- Boresighting proficency
