Cadets earn rare German badge

Members of ROTC programs across the Midwest had the opportunity to earn the German Armed Forces Badge For Military Proficiency at a weekend-long event last weekend.

More than 250 cadets from 27 schools competed in the weekend’s events, which the IU ROTC senior class took the lead in planning.

Sgt. Major Zindel, a German soldier, joined competitors as a representative from the German Armor Liason Organization to oversee the competition.

“Sergeant Major Zindel attended to ensure all standards are set as prescribed by the German Army. Foreign skill badges are rare in the military and even more so in ROTC,” said Jim Gordon, IU’s ROTC Army’s cadet battalion commander. “That is why this past weekend was really something special.”

Gordon was one of IU’s ROTC Army contributors that helped put on the event that included a 200-meter swim, a 5k run, a first aid test, a 9 mm pistol qualification, track and field events and a 12k road march.

This event has been in the works since December by the IU ROTC’s senior class, Gordon said.

“We planned the logistics, transportation, billeting, grade tracking system and each event itself of the entire weekend,” Gordon said. “Once the weekend began, IU ROTC cadets were in charge of running events, grading competitors and keeping track of scores. Despite the daunting numbers, the weekend went off without any glitches or mistakes.”

From the 250 cadets that attended, about 180 were awarded with the badge. The chance to earn a foreign badge is a special honor for any soldier, especially those in ROTC, Gordon said.

American soldiers add the badge to their Class A Uniform and wear it for the rest of their career in the military.

The opportunity attracted competing cadets from schools as far as Michigan and Knoxville, Tenn.

Eight IU ROTC members were participants in the weekend’s competition. Seven
received a gold badge and one received a bronze badge.

“We woke up at 6 a.m. to train every day for a month and a half for this,” said John Brogan, IU ROTC senior and captain of the event, in an e-mail. “The team of IU cadets that completed the event all agreed that it was difficult to do the amount of events, but the badge gave them a sense of achievement that they will be able to take with them throughout their Army career.”

Brogan said he was honored to get the badge but he took more from the weekend then just the medal. The successful event left him feeling closer with his ROTC community.

“The camaraderie and friendship built with the other competitors during training for the event is worth more than the badge to me,” he said.

Leaving with eight badges awarded to IU students made the weekend a success,
Gordon said.

“With the incredibly successful outcome of the weekend, IU students can know that their Army ROTC program is one of the best in the nation,” Gordon said.