via Army Times.
You’ve heard of the Expert Infantryman Badge and Expert Field Medical Badge, as well as the Combat Infantryman Badge and its cousin, the Combat Action Badge.
Now, the Army is toying with the idea of another expert badge, specifically for everyone who isn’t an infantryman or a combat medic.
The Expert Action Badge would test general soldier skills, Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey told Army Times, similar to how the EIB and EFMB test core infantry and combat medic proficiency outside of deployments.
"I want to build individual skills," Dailey said. "The reason why we have an EIB and EFMB is so those two fields can maintain their skills during peacetime."
Offering testing and a badge is a good way to incentivize soldiers and units to train and remain proficient, Dailey said.
Command Sgt. Maj. David Davenport, the top enlisted soldier at Training and Doctrine Command, went public with the plan on March 24. Initial reactions from soldiers and veterans were mixed, and Army Times was flooded with nearly 500 reader comments about the move.
Some were interested in the opportunity to test their skills in garrison, while others saw it as another participation badge — similar to the way they felt about the CAB — for soldiers who opted out of the risks of the infantry.
This came out last year. I totally missed it. Why am I zooming back to it now? Because I saw this on my twitter feed...
Tell me I'm wrong but this seems like madness! You're gonna give a badge for knowing basic skills?
What's going on Army Dawgs!!!
