Gentlemen,
This thread is something that I have wanted to star for some time. There are a number of foreign military badges etc. that one sees in pictures of BW service men that are from countries other than Germany. Since there were so many I took it for granted that if you saw it worn on the BW uniform then it must be a badge that could be awarded by a foreign country and that it was authorized by the BW for wear.
That is until Guardian 5 posted a foto (at least I think it was Guardian 5) on a thread that I can not find and another member made a comment that the U.S. Army Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) probably should not be worn by a member of the BW.
So I did some research. I could not find any reference that indicated that the CIB was authorised for award to members of a foreign military organization. I did find authority on line that states that the Expert Infantry Badge could be awarded to foreign servicemen. Specifically German troops so please see below;
"In July 1978, Brigadier General David Buckner, Assistant Deputy Commander, Second Infantry Division, requested permission to allow KATUSA personnel be afforded the opportunity to compete for the EIB. Their rationale was that KATUSA personnel were serving in Infantry and mortar crew positions and were fully integrated into our rifle squads and mortar crews. Brigadier General John E. Rogers, Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Infantry School commented, “This could open the door for granting exceptions for other groups which could lead to a lessening of the meaning of the EIB.” In August 1978, the Commander USAEIGHT, awarded 284 KATUSAs the EIB with the stipulation that they only wear the award while assigned to 2nd Infantry Division.
Effective 1 April 1978, qualification on the current Skills Qualification Test was added as a prerequisite for Expert Infantry Badge.
Army Regulation 627-12, 1 April 1983, states that candidates must be active members of the U.S. Army, USAR, or ARNG.
Department of the Army Circular 350-85-3, 15 July 1985, removed the authority to test Soldiers attending schools and training centers.
In August 1986, the Third Infantry Division proposed awarding the EIB to German Soldiers. The Infantry school staffed this proposal to the field. Responses indicated that overseas units were in favor, CONUS units were opposed. Commander, FORSCOM, commented, “We tightly control the award within our own Army, strictly limiting the number of MOS eligible for the award. It would be inconsistent with this policy to permit foreign military to be eligible.” Awards Branch, MILPERCEN, strongly opposed stating, “allowing eligibility to other than U.S. Infantry would start a policy of reciprocity with allied Soldiers.” Brigadier General Barry McCaffery, Assistant Commandant of U.S. Army Infantry School, commented, “The award must remain with the U.S. Infantryman. The Award of the EIB and its wartime counterpart, the CIB, unlike specialty badges, has always been restrictive.
In 1987, the Second Infantry Division again requested permission to test and award KATUSA Soldiers for the EIB. Major General Edwin Burba, Commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School, replied, “Your request to award the EIB to KATUSA Soldiers in the 2ID puts us in a delicate situation. In the past several years we have turned down personnel from Special Forces, USAF Ground Security Units, Marines, Foreign partnership units, Combat Engineers and forward observers assigned to and living with U.S. Units. We have also turned down El Salvadoran Cadets, Ranger Qualified West Point Cadets, ROTC Cadets in Cadet Troop Leader Training with Infantry Units, and Foreign Infantry Students and Liaison Officers assigned to Fort Benning.” General Burba went on to say, that an exception for allied Soldiers “will bring an emotional response from many Senior Commanders whose requests for exceptions have already been turned down and establish a precedent that will compromise us with the flood of other exceptions that are sure to follow.”
In June 1988, the Third Armored Division followed the spirit of the EIB eligibility requirements. German Infantrymen who successfully completed EIB testing were awarded a 3d Armored Division Certificate of Achievement."
Taken from the web page of U.S.Army Maneuver Center Of Excellence Fort Benning Georgia.
Whether this limited authority for awarding the EIB would be extended to units in Afghanistan for the award of the CIB is anybodies guess but I would be interested in comments from other forum members. The wearing of the badge in question is on the uniform of the soldier in the centre of the picture below.
Regards,
Gordon
This thread is something that I have wanted to star for some time. There are a number of foreign military badges etc. that one sees in pictures of BW service men that are from countries other than Germany. Since there were so many I took it for granted that if you saw it worn on the BW uniform then it must be a badge that could be awarded by a foreign country and that it was authorized by the BW for wear.
That is until Guardian 5 posted a foto (at least I think it was Guardian 5) on a thread that I can not find and another member made a comment that the U.S. Army Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) probably should not be worn by a member of the BW.
So I did some research. I could not find any reference that indicated that the CIB was authorised for award to members of a foreign military organization. I did find authority on line that states that the Expert Infantry Badge could be awarded to foreign servicemen. Specifically German troops so please see below;
"In July 1978, Brigadier General David Buckner, Assistant Deputy Commander, Second Infantry Division, requested permission to allow KATUSA personnel be afforded the opportunity to compete for the EIB. Their rationale was that KATUSA personnel were serving in Infantry and mortar crew positions and were fully integrated into our rifle squads and mortar crews. Brigadier General John E. Rogers, Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Infantry School commented, “This could open the door for granting exceptions for other groups which could lead to a lessening of the meaning of the EIB.” In August 1978, the Commander USAEIGHT, awarded 284 KATUSAs the EIB with the stipulation that they only wear the award while assigned to 2nd Infantry Division.
Effective 1 April 1978, qualification on the current Skills Qualification Test was added as a prerequisite for Expert Infantry Badge.
Army Regulation 627-12, 1 April 1983, states that candidates must be active members of the U.S. Army, USAR, or ARNG.
Department of the Army Circular 350-85-3, 15 July 1985, removed the authority to test Soldiers attending schools and training centers.
In August 1986, the Third Infantry Division proposed awarding the EIB to German Soldiers. The Infantry school staffed this proposal to the field. Responses indicated that overseas units were in favor, CONUS units were opposed. Commander, FORSCOM, commented, “We tightly control the award within our own Army, strictly limiting the number of MOS eligible for the award. It would be inconsistent with this policy to permit foreign military to be eligible.” Awards Branch, MILPERCEN, strongly opposed stating, “allowing eligibility to other than U.S. Infantry would start a policy of reciprocity with allied Soldiers.” Brigadier General Barry McCaffery, Assistant Commandant of U.S. Army Infantry School, commented, “The award must remain with the U.S. Infantryman. The Award of the EIB and its wartime counterpart, the CIB, unlike specialty badges, has always been restrictive.
In 1987, the Second Infantry Division again requested permission to test and award KATUSA Soldiers for the EIB. Major General Edwin Burba, Commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School, replied, “Your request to award the EIB to KATUSA Soldiers in the 2ID puts us in a delicate situation. In the past several years we have turned down personnel from Special Forces, USAF Ground Security Units, Marines, Foreign partnership units, Combat Engineers and forward observers assigned to and living with U.S. Units. We have also turned down El Salvadoran Cadets, Ranger Qualified West Point Cadets, ROTC Cadets in Cadet Troop Leader Training with Infantry Units, and Foreign Infantry Students and Liaison Officers assigned to Fort Benning.” General Burba went on to say, that an exception for allied Soldiers “will bring an emotional response from many Senior Commanders whose requests for exceptions have already been turned down and establish a precedent that will compromise us with the flood of other exceptions that are sure to follow.”
In June 1988, the Third Armored Division followed the spirit of the EIB eligibility requirements. German Infantrymen who successfully completed EIB testing were awarded a 3d Armored Division Certificate of Achievement."
Taken from the web page of U.S.Army Maneuver Center Of Excellence Fort Benning Georgia.
Whether this limited authority for awarding the EIB would be extended to units in Afghanistan for the award of the CIB is anybodies guess but I would be interested in comments from other forum members. The wearing of the badge in question is on the uniform of the soldier in the centre of the picture below.
Regards,
Gordon
Comment