Air Defense Airmen compete for German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge

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New York National Guard
Story by Timothy Jones
Wednesday, August 29, 2018

In an innovative effort to promote fitness and improve morale, the 224th Support Squadron recently conducted a German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge competition.

A decoration of the Bundeswhehr, the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, the badge is one of the few foreign awards approved for wear on U.S. uniforms.

Organized by Master Sgt. Eric Stone and Tech. Sgt. Sean Redden, the competition included four Airmen from the 224th Air Defense Group – the 224th Support Squadron and the 224th Air Defense Squadron make up the 224th, which provides the New York Air National Guard forces at the Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome.

 Three Airmen from the 109th Airlift Wing participated as well. Stone and Redden became qualified test proctors by completing a one-day training session conducted by the German liaison officer at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Fitness, firearms proficiency and military skill components, administered over three days, make up the proficiency badge test. The first day was dedicated to the basic fitness test, composed of 11 10-meter sprints, followed by a timed, flexed-arm hang (the longer an individual can hang on the bar, the better the score) and a 1,000 meter run.

The 10-meter sprint event is more complicated than it sounds. Participants start from a prone position, laying stomach down on a mat, jump up and sprint around a cone and back to the starting point, where they must return to stomach-down position before starting the next sprint. 

Participants were assigned scores based on their times and all three tests had to be completed within 90 minutes of the start of the first event.

Second-day events included a 100-meter swim, a first aid evaluation and a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Mission Oriented Protective Posture test conducted while wearing chemical protective suits. The road march and pistol qualification course took place on the third day.

Airmen wore their Airman Battle Uniform  during the swim and had to complete the course in less the four minutes to pass. In the road march, each Airman wore ABUs and a helmet while carrying ruck sacks weighing 33 pounds. To achieve the highest score, participants had to cover 7.46 miles in less two hours.

Two Airmen qualified for the badge.

 Staff Sgt. Caleb Adam of the 224th ADS achieved the highest score, qualifying at the gold level, while Tech. Sgt. Redden qualified at the bronze level.

Lt. Col. Paul Bishop, the 224th Support Squadron Commander, encouraged the proficiency badge competition as a way to promote physical fitness. Fitness plays a large role in maintaining and improving performance and is especially important at EADS where Airmen work long, rotating shifts, Bishop said.

Plans are underway to conduct future tests for the badge, with the hope of attracting more participants from within the ADG and around the state, Bishop added.

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