Soldiers from across the Army's Total Force converged on Fort McCoy in spring 2026 to compete in one of the military's most demanding professional-development and readiness programs as the U.S. Army Reserve conducted its 2026 Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB), Expert Soldier Badge (ESB), and Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB) assessment, collectively known as E3B.
According to the U.S. Army Reserve Competitive Programs Office, the event was held from April 27 through May 8 and brought together Soldiers from the active Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard to train and test for expert qualification in their respective military specialties.
Army Reserve officials describe the E3B program as a readiness-focused initiative designed to develop technically proficient Soldiers while enhancing interoperability across all Army components.
The event followed a familiar format that has become a staple of Army Reserve training at Fort McCoy. Candidates completed a week of intensive preparation before facing a demanding series of graded evaluations.
Army Reserve coverage of the event showed Soldiers being tested across 30 separate lanes involving weapons proficiency, tactical tasks, medical skills, physical fitness assessments, and warrior tasks and battle drills. Competitors also faced day and night land navigation requirements and a culminating road march designed to assess endurance, resilience, and attention to detail under pressure.
The challenge proved formidable.
In remarks following the event, the U.S. Army Reserve Command senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Betty, reported that 22 Soldiers successfully earned their badges after the completion of testing.
Army Reserve social media coverage also noted that more than 250 Soldiers initially entered the testing process, highlighting the exceptionally selective nature of the program and the prestige associated with earning one of the Army’s expert skill badges.
The significance of the badges themselves is rooted in decades of Army history. The EIB traces its origins to 1943 during World War II when Army leaders established the award to recognize infantry Soldiers who demonstrated mastery of combat-focused skills and battlefield tasks, history shows. Since its creation, the badge has become one of the Army’s most respected symbols of tactical proficiency and infantry excellence.
The EFMB was established in 1965 to recognize Army medical personnel who demonstrate expert competence in combat medicine, casualty care, evacuation procedures, and battlefield survival skills, Army history shows. Military medical professionals often regard the EFMB as one of the most difficult and prestigious qualifications available within military medicine.
More recently, the Army established the Expert Soldier Badge in 2019 to provide Soldiers outside infantry and medical specialties the opportunity to earn an expert-level qualification, according to Army.mil sources. The ESB recognizes proficiency in common warrior tasks, weapons handling, physical fitness, land navigation, and tactical skills that are fundamental to Soldier readiness regardless of military occupational specialty.
Army officials have consistently emphasized that the badges are not participation awards. Rather, they serve as visible symbols of excellence that signify a Soldier has demonstrated mastery of critical tasks under rigorous testing conditions.
Additionally, Fort McCoy has become an important home for the Army Reserve's E3B program over the years. The installation has hosted multiple iterations of the event and offers the infrastructure necessary to support a large-scale assessment that requires extensive maneuver space, road march routes, land navigation courses, training facilities, ranges, and logistical support.
Army Reserve officials have repeatedly selected Fort McCoy because of its ability to provide a realistic and challenging environment for testing Soldiers from across the force.
The event also aligns closely with Fort McCoy's broader role as one of the Army's premier training centers.
The installation annually supports tens of thousands of service members representing active Army, Army Reserve, National Guard, joint-service, and multinational organizations. Its extensive range complexes, urban-training facilities, maneuver areas, and support infrastructure make it one of the few installations capable of hosting complex, multi-component events such as E3B, Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security stated.
The competition further reflects Fort McCoy's recently adopted strategic direction. The installation’s new motto, “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909,†underscores its longstanding role in preparing military forces for operational success, Fort McCoy Garrison officials said. Likewise, Fort McCoy's mission statement emphasizes strengthening Total Force readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area that enables warfighters to deploy, fight, and win the nation's wars.
That mission was clearly on display throughout the 2026 E3B event as Soldiers from across the Army gathered at Fort McCoy to test themselves against some of the service’s most demanding standards.
The installation's vision statement calls for Fort McCoy to be “the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.†The successful execution of the 2026 E3B assessment demonstrated that vision in action by providing the facilities, expertise, and training environment necessary to develop and validate Soldier proficiency at the highest levels.
As the final road march concluded and successful candidates were awarded their badges, Fort McCoy once again demonstrated why it remains a cornerstone of Army Reserve readiness and one of the nation's premier venues for developing expert Soldiers, garrison leaders said. For the select group who earned their EIB, ESB, or EFMB, the accomplishment represented far more than a badge — it possibly signified membership in a distinguished tradition of Soldiers who have proven their skills under some of the Army's most rigorous standards and joined a legacy of excellence that spans generations.
See related video coverage at https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1007869/standard-army-reserve-e3b and https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1008228/e3b-2026-fort-mccoy.
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,†on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.†Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy†or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army's Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army's Home.â€
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office and through Army Reserve coverage by Staff Sgt. Cameron Hershberger and by Kevin Clark with the Fort McCoy Multimedia-Visual Information Office.)
