On Oct. 28, seven Soldiers from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command earned the Expert Field Medical Badge during the 2016 EFMB competition held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

The EFMB is one of the U.S. Army Medical Command's top honors and is intended to recognize Soldier medics who attain a high degree of professional skill and proficiency as a field medic - it is reserved for the best of the best. Earning the badge requires deliberate planning and focused training.

Over the past 50 years, more than 150,000 Soldiers have attempted to earn the Army Medical Department badge with an average of only 19 percent of Soldiers earning a badge through the evaluations.

To earn the badge, candidates must complete a series of warrior and medical tasks. They must also successfully finish day and night land navigation tests, as well as a written exam and a final 12-mile road march.

The USAMRMC Soldiers awarded the EFMB include:

• Spec. Nirajan Nepal - U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
• Spec. Michael Aponte - U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
• Sgt. Christopher Springer - Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
• Sgt. Elizabeth Whitaker - Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
• Sgt. Maclah Williams - Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
• Spec. Robert Edmonson - Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
• Capt. Carl Smith - U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine