Who is Maria Eggers?
During an inspiring and demanding week, 1st Lt. Maria Eggers has become the first woman and the first Latina from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment to earn the coveted Expert Infantry Badge or EIB.
Courtesy of NBC News
What is the Expert Infantry Badge?
The Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB, is a special skills badge of the United States Army. It’s extremely difficult for a Soldier to obtain the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB).
The qualification test has nearly three dozen tasks — several of which do not have a redo option on a “no-go.”
Fewer than 100 females in the U.S. Army have received it —all combat roles were opened to women in 2016.
What’s the test about?
Imagine having to complete a physically demanding test consisting of navigating terrain until 4 a.m., a 12-mile foot march while carrying full armor, putting on equipment for a possible chemical attack, and disassembling a weapon all in just five days.
Eggers, 24, received it in April by successfully finishing the 
five-day test that measures a soldier’s physical fitness and ability to perform to standards of excellence in a wide variety of critical infantry skills. The test measures the mastery of those skills through different evaluations and different degrees of stress.
Maria Eggers, a humble Latina!
“I was shocked by how few females have had the opportunity or who have tried,” she said. “I definitely think it is amazing that we have females that are in this profession and that we’re succeeding. There is a lot of good talk that happens whenever somebody is successful. It just shows that we can do it and that females are strong and we can handle this job too.”
