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Soldiers compete for German badge

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joshua King
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Sixteen Soldiers from A Company of the 1st Battalion 391st Regiment competed for the prestigious German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge here, Sept. 1-4.

To earn the badge, service members must complete six tests that challenge the participants in a different way than they are accustomed to. Out of the 16 Soldiers that competed, 10 passed.

"We like to do this to have a good relationship with them and they qualify for an award not all U.S. Soldiers get the chance to," said German air force Master Sgt. Maik Nattkemper, Dulles International Airport traffic and transportation division.

The test incorporated physical fitness test, first aid, mission oriented protective postures, weapons firing, and swimming.

"The hardest was, I thought, the swim. Now I've been swimming, but not in uniform. That's lesson number one, it's totally different," said Lt. Col. Johann Gomez, 1/391st Battalion commander. "It seems easy until you're doing it. It really wears you down."

Finally, the Soldiers completed a 7.5-mile march to complete with a 35-pound rucksack in less than 2 hours.

"If you don't practice for these events you're going to struggle," said Gomez.

"I got to see them really work as a company," he continued. "I'm fairly new, so I haven't spent too much time with them. I got to see how everyone rallied around each other."

The Soldiers who passed received their badges and are able to wear them in their dress uniforms.

"Three Soldiers got gold, three received silver and four bronze," said Nattkemper.