{"id":40670,"date":"2018-02-08T23:07:35","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T23:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/08\/commentary-the-army-should-publicly-recognize-women-who-earn-the-expert-infantryman-badge\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:01:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:01:36","slug":"commentary-the-army-should-publicly-recognize-women-who-earn-the-expert-infantryman-badge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/commentary\/2018\/02\/08\/commentary-the-army-should-publicly-recognize-women-who-earn-the-expert-infantryman-badge\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary: The Army should publicly recognize women who earn the Expert Infantryman Badge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Women with EIBs: Should the Army give them a shout-out? Or treat them like everyone else? Two women who are veterans offered Army Times their two different views. Here\u2019s one of them: <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last November, 387 out of 1,000 candidates<\/a> passed the qualifications and earned the Expert Infantryman Badge<\/a> (EIB). Of those 387, six were women \u2014 the first women to achieve the badge, yet the public has heard little to nothing about this historic step. In keeping hush, the Army has done itself a great disservice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports last year show that the Army is struggling to meet new recruiting demands, and in turn lowering recruiting requirements to fill their ranks. This has been the wrong approach. Instead of lowering standards, the Army should smartly expand its pool of potential candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One approach adopted by the Marine Corps has been recruiting alpha-females often found in top athletic programs across the nation. Those women are exactly the type who would be motivated by achieving an EIB. Over the past three years, the Army has taken steps to recruit more females, including making more female recruiters. In many regards, it has worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\t