USARAK Soldiers vie for rare EFMB

  • Published
  • By Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Smith
  • 4-25th IBCT Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  It took six grueling days for 133 medics from across U.S. Army Alaska, the 25th Infantry Division and both the California and Alaska National Guard to dwindle down to five candidates who earned the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge at the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division's 2013 EFMB challenge.

An award ceremony was hosted at the Spartan Brigade's headquarters Monday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, just after the five remaining Soldiers finished the rigorous challenge of a 12-mile foot march.

The EFMB was originally established in 1965 and has evolved into the most extreme test for Soldiers in medical career fields. This is the first EFMB challenge the Spartan Brigade has led since returning from their deployment to Afghanistan last year.

Soldier-medic key tasks were day and night land navigation, a 12-mile foot march, and combat testing lanes. The lanes tested medics in simulated combat environments. Main CTL tasks included tactical combat casualty care, medical and casualty evacuation, communications, and a written examination.

Army Maj. Gen. Michael H. Shields, USARAK's commanding general, said the EFMB is a coveted award, which is seldom achieved.

"It's a highly coveted award," Shields said. "It's not meant for everybody to have. It's a testament both to their professionalism and their confidence."

The EFMB is so difficult to attain, that currently less than three percent of all U.S. Army Medical Department personnel have earned the badge.

Among the final five Soldiers who earned the EFMB were Spc. Birane Dioum with the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, Spc. Justin Borquez with the 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment and Spc. Corey Bell with the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment, all with the 4-25th IBCT. Also among the recipients was Pfc. Joseph Fescina with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment and Pfc. Scott Skipper assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment; both of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright.

Fescina was happy to earn his EFMB, and was excited about getting some of his peers from Fort Wainwright to earn their badges.

"It's pretty fun," Fescina said. "I've got to go get a couple other people motivated from up top [Fort Wainwright]. I'll get them down here, and we'll do it again."

Bell said he was happy to get to the end of the tough course.

"It was difficult," Bell said. "Night land [navigation] was the hardest part for sure."

It took Dioum multiple tries to earn his badge.

"It's great. I mean, because this is my third time to try to get in," Dioum said. "This time I was better and I trained harder."

Echoing a common theme among the finalists, Borquez said he was happy to get through the course.

"It just feels good to be done," he said. "I'm going to help other people get it when they go through ... It was good training, good lanes, a lot of fun, and definitely a real hard course."