I was up early getting guys ready for the EIB foot march. In between when they left at 0430 and when the other guys would be in for morning PT, I was going to run the track at Artillery Field. It is located at the entrance to Kelley Hill and is the where the foot march transitions from asphalt to tank trails. I shouted out some word of encouragement and motivation, then I proceeded to run.
The track on Arty Field is a packed earth, half-mile track with some loose sand in come of the worn corners. It has lights around it, but only half of them work. Coming around the far side of the track, their is a slight incline and the extremely bright security lights from the nearby weapons pool make coming up that part of the track a "blinding" experience. After 2 laps of that nonsense, I started running the other way around the track.
I knocked out 4 pretty good miles with relatively steady, and progressively faster times. 8;06, 8:01, 8:00 and 7:43. How that was happening I do not know; the day was already at 78 degrees a hot and sticky early morning.
When I got back to the company and the few guys I had left were getting ready for PT, my plans of taking my guys that had already passed the EIB foot march up to Arty Field and walking with the ruck marchers the last 2 miles was shattered. I was trumped by military rank and told, despite my protests, that we were going to conduct a mandatory annual 4 mile run. Known as a Fit-to-Fight run, it's a 4 mile formation run that must be completed within 36 minutes (a 9:00 pace.)
Without a lot of in depth explaining, most of us completed the run in 32:55. Since I wasn't the one with the watch, I have been told that we may have actually completed it faster. either way, we knocked out 2 loops around Kelley Hill in short order, then proceeded to run up the EIB course until we ran into our guys making their way back from the foot march.
They were coming in close on time, but they were going out for something that is very important to an Infantry Soldier on many levels. Passing the ruck march is just one of many tasks required in the hunt for the Expert Infantryman's Badge, but has always been held as one of its greatest challenges and main events. The EIB is mark of distinction that separates the true experts in their field. It can help with promotion and is a reward for Soldiers that perform their skills at a higher level then just the standard.
Today, the young men going out for this challenge were showing that it also requires a lot of heart. The hot and humid day was worse then it was two weeks ago when I did the march with the guys. Those coming down the last stretch needed to cover a fair amount of ground and had to continue a jog or a trot until the finish line or be counted as a "No-Go" and have to repeat this task again in two weeks. Those Soldiers finishing before the 3 hour mark were doing it all out of heart, pure guts, determination. Even though we gathered around them to bring them into the finish line, all we could do was try and motivate them ... they had to want it for themselves as only they could feel their own pain.
In the end, by pushing themselves, 4 more Soldiers from my platoon passed this event under the grueling conditions given to them this morning. More amazing is that the newest Soldier in my platoon, in his first week in the unit, has completed his PT test, rifle qualification and road march all in EIB standard!
Bottom line: 7 out of 25 Soldier going for their EIB in my platoon have met all the EIB pre-requisites so-far. 1st 4 mile run, 31:50 total time. 2nd 4 mile run, 32:55.
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