WEBVTT

00:02.440 --> 00:05.660
push forward comfort .

00:06.040 --> 00:09.280
At fob Gerber kuwait a select group of

00:09.280 --> 00:11.447
soldiers from the Minnesota . National

00:11.447 --> 00:13.810
Guards . First Brigade combat team took

00:13.810 --> 00:15.921
on the difficult challenge of earning

00:15.921 --> 00:18.760
their expert infantryman badge or E I B

00:19.240 --> 00:21.580
but not every soldier participating

00:21.590 --> 00:24.050
will earn this prestigious award . The

00:24.050 --> 00:26.160
expert infantryman badge is an elite

00:26.190 --> 00:28.790
elite award to attain and it's very

00:28.790 --> 00:31.560
difficult . So we have a daily

00:32.140 --> 00:35.150
failure rate of about 60% sometimes

00:35.150 --> 00:38.170
more depending on the event and overall

00:38.180 --> 00:40.690
overall sometimes only

00:40.700 --> 00:44.610
20% go out for the award will receive

00:44.610 --> 00:47.620
it . E I . B candidates must conduct

00:47.630 --> 00:49.797
three lanes of training where they are

00:49.797 --> 00:52.090
graded by expert infantrymen who offer

00:52.090 --> 00:55.320
little room for error because so many

00:55.320 --> 00:57.264
units have deployed throughout the

00:57.264 --> 00:59.480
world . In the last decade , the army

00:59.480 --> 01:01.591
changed the concept of the validation

01:01.591 --> 01:04.290
process , making it easier for National

01:04.290 --> 01:06.890
Guard units to hold the event . The

01:06.890 --> 01:09.112
guard typically does not conduct expert

01:09.112 --> 01:11.112
infantry badge testing because it's

01:11.112 --> 01:13.390
very time consuming and time intensive ,

01:13.390 --> 01:15.446
labor intensive , so it's worked out

01:15.446 --> 01:17.557
well for us to be able to do these on

01:17.557 --> 01:19.612
deployments um on active duty . It's

01:19.612 --> 01:21.668
just part of your training cycle for

01:21.668 --> 01:23.779
that year . The final event is a test

01:23.779 --> 01:26.001
of the candidates endurance , a 12 mile

01:26.001 --> 01:28.057
road march that must be completed in

01:28.057 --> 01:31.860
under three hours Of the 294 soldiers

01:31.860 --> 01:34.990
that started the 12 day event , only 53

01:34.990 --> 01:37.046
crossed the finish line on the final

01:37.046 --> 01:40.740
day . These 53 now share a place among

01:40.740 --> 01:43.030
the finest warriors the army has to

01:43.030 --> 01:46.670
offer . It means everything to me . It

01:46.670 --> 01:50.080
means that not only an empty man , But

01:50.080 --> 01:52.080
I'm one of the best infantrymen out

01:52.080 --> 01:54.136
there means everything . I love it .

01:54.136 --> 01:56.330
For the first of the 34th Brigade

01:56.330 --> 01:59.520
combat team , I'm specialist Bob Brown ,

01:59.530 --> 02:01.750
Bob , Gerber Kuwait .