The Army is changing the way soldiers train and test for the three skills badges that are critical to career advancement.

A process that now takes more than a month, where soldiers vie for the badge that demonstrates proficiency and expertise in their MOS, will soon take only two weeks. This consolidation of training and testing will save units untold amounts of resources, time and logistics, the Army’s senior training NCO said.

“We want to implement this across every MOS and give every soldier the opportunity to participate in the best skill-level training that’s available in the Army,” Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Hendrex, senior enlisted leader for Army Training and Doctrine Command, said Sept. 28 during a call with reporters.

Soldiers vying for the Expert Infantry Badge earned by infantrymen, the Expert Field Medical Badge earned by combat medics, and the Expert Soldier Badge earned by soldiers in every other MOS, currently train in separate three-week cycles followed by one week of testing.

To do this, units have to find the time, allocate the resources, provide the manning and certify each event, a feat that for busy units can sometimes create a two-year period when soldiers don’t have an opportunity to earn their badge.

In the new model, Hendrex said, training and testing for all three badges will take place simultaneously by focusing on the tasks common to each badge and singling out tasks specific to each MOS as needed. 

Training will be linked to the Digital Job Book and Small Unit Leader Tool apps so soldiers can train and get certified at the company, battery or troop level using their handheld devices to track their progress leading up to the consolidated week of training with soldiers in other MOSs, Hendrex said.

The system was tested by soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, in May, July and September.

Using land navigation as an example, Command Sgt. Maj. Mario Terenas, senior enlisted leader for the 10th Mountain Division, said each badge has its own standard set by the proponency for that badge. That meant each training and testing event had to have its own land navigation site with its own set of requirements.

By coming together to hash out ways to combine the events while still meeting each requirement, time was slashed and needed resources diminished.

“Because we've been able to shorten it, meaning running it three times a year, now there's this continuous pursuit of excellence where I know that I can try out, and if I, for some reason, don't make it, that's OK, because a few months later I'm going to get [another] chance,” Terenas said during the call.

The program will be rolled out to the Total Army by the end of October, Hendrex said.