SETAF-AF, Sky Soldiers earn coveted expert badges

Back to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

GRAFENWOER, Germany - Soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), tested their warfighting skills and demonstrated lethal proficiency during the Expert Infantry Badge and Expert Soldier Badge event held Sept. 7-23, 2025 in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

The competition brought together almost 950 Soldiers from the Vicenza military community who volunteered to put their physical, mental and tactical skills to the test in pursuit of one of the Army's most prestigious badges. At the end of the event, 272 Sky Soldiers and SETAF-AF candidates successfully earned the right to wear the EIB or ESB.

The EIB was established by an executive order in 1944 by Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to honor infantrymen proficiency. In 2019, the Army established the ESB as a means for Soldiers of all military occupational specialties to earn the badge of honor symbolizing lethality and readiness. Both badges serve to highlight a Soldier's technical and tactical expertise.

"The first week to third week progression was very encouraging as a grader, because they [ESB/EIB candidates] are testing out on skills that they otherwise wouldn't have honed," said Sgt. Enrico Cappelleri, a land navigation grader assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. "As a cadre member, watching candidates develop their abilities and gain confidence as they successfully executed the rigorous events was extremely rewarding."

Candidates faced demanding conditions across areas such as the Expert Physical Fitness Assessment, weapons proficiency, land navigation and medical care. Each task had to be performed to exact specifications under time constraints.

"The most challenging part was retaining all of the information and having to master the skills of thirty different lanes of medical, patrol, and weapons," said Sgt. Christopher Sanchez, an ESB recipient assigned to SETAF-AF. "When test week comes, if you don't get those repetitions in, and execute the sequence, you're out. It helped me develop skills like time management, patience, working under pressure and maintaining composure to efficiently apply them to Army's battles."

The Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and SETAF-AF demonstrated not only their individual grit, but also the collective readiness of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa's frontline units.

"Overcoming these struggles has allowed me to become a more confident leader," said Sanchez. "I can bring these skills to my unit to share the knowledge and become a more productive team, be the Soldiers the Army wants us to be, and win our nation's battles."

In the end, those who earned the EIB or ESB joined a select group of Soldiers recognized across the Army for their professional excellence, technical mastery and readiness to fight and win.

About 173rd Airborne Brigade

The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of rapidly projecting forces to conduct the full range of military operations across the U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Central Command areas of responsibility.

About SETAF-AF

U.S. Army Southern European Task Force (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.

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