Das Abzeichen für Leistungen im Truppendienst in Gold

While attending the Military Intelligence Officer's Course, I have had the opportunity to pursue the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (GAFPB). This is one of the few foreign awards that U.S. personnel are allowed to wear on their dress uniforms. To acquire the badge you must participate in several different events performing to a particular standard. Your reward is the badge to the left in either Gold, Silver, or Bronze depending on your level of performance. To win Gold you must complete the following events:

200m swim-6:00 minutes

3000m run-13:00 minutes

100m sprint-13.6 seconds

High Jump-1.35m

Shot Put-8m

25m Marksmanship- Shoot 5/5

18.7 mile ruck march- 5:00 hours

What did I manage to get you might ask? Well, it came down to the ruck march and the swim. I failed the swim twice before finally coming in 30 seconds under time. Go figure! And for the grand finale, I finished the ruck march seven minutes early with a whopping 4 hours and 53 minutes. Nothing like coming in at the last minute. Somehow I managed to get the Gold GAFPB, or as they say in Germany, "Das Abzeichen für Leistungen im Truppendienst in Gold."

I'm quite pleased.