Fort Irwin High Desert Warrior, March 2023

Volume 19, Number 3 Published in the interest of the National Training Center and Fort Irwin community • home.army.mil/Irwin March 2023
SMA plans to reward Soldiers who meet rising standards
by Joe Lacdan
Army News Service
By raising the standards of its physical assessment tests and Basic Leader Course, the service will continually challenge its Soldiers resulting in more successful missions, the U.S. Army’s top enlisted leader said.
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston, speaking during an Association of the U.S. Army meeting Feb. 14, praised Sol- diers for their ongoing efforts on one such mission, supporting the conflict in Ukraine.
To allow Army leaders to focus on the larger battle picture, Grinston said Soldiers at the squad level must be proficient in battle drills, land navigation and basic first aid.
“If you don’t know how to stop a Soldier from bleeding, it doesn’t matter if you’re in large-scale combat or counterinsur- gency, you don’t know how to do your tasks,” Grinston said. “At the battalion and below, you need to be an absolute expert in your job. Every Soldier in your organization needs to know their job so well that we shouldn’t have to worry about that. [Then] we can worry about the deep fight and long-range hypersonics.”
The Expert Infantryman Badge, which distinguishes Soldiers who demonstrate excellence or proficiency in infantry skills, and the Expert Soldier Badge and the Expert Field Medic Badge form the EIB3.
To qualify for the EIB, Soldiers must complete a new physi- cal assessment test.
During the qualification, Soldiers must don operational camouflage pattern uniforms and helmets, run for one mile, perform pushups and sprints, and push through a sandbag course. Then Soldiers must complete a high crawl, perform a series of exercises with a partner, run a designated distance while carrying weights and finally, Soldiers will finish another one-mile run.
Grinston said the service plans to reward Soldiers who main- tain a high level of physical fitness. Soldiers who score 540 or higher on the Army Combat Fitness Test will be exempt from
Army photograph by Spec. Elizabeth MacPherson
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston shakes the hand of a Soldier during the Bavarian Minister President’s luncheon held at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on March 11, 2022. Grinston recently spoke about changes to the Expert Infantry Badge physical assessment test and Army recruiting efforts during an Association of the U.S. Army meeting on Feb. 14, 2023.
the body composition measurements with a directive expected to be published in March, Grinston said. Soldiers can score a maximum of 600 on the exam.
Additionally, Grinston announced last year that the service will
bring land navigation qualification back to the Basic Leader Course. “What we need to do is continuously challenge our NCOs,” Grinston said. “So that’s one of our biggest changes; make our See SMA, Page 3
More time for family: Army updates guidance for expanded parental leave
by Christopher Hurd
Army News
In an effort to support parents and care- givers, the Army has refined its parental leave guidance to align with the recent Department of Defense expanded Military Parental Leave Program.
The update authorizes 12 weeks of paid pa- ternal leave for birth parents, non-birth parents and Soldiers adopting a child or accepting a child for long-term foster care.
Things to know:
Coverage is retroactive to Dec. 27, 2022
* Soldiers who gave birth to a child, ad- opted a child or began fostering a child, and who have not used parental leave within the last year (Dec. 27, 2021, to Dec. 27, 2022), are authorized 12 weeks of leave, if such leave ends no later than one year after the qualifying event. Soldiers who completed their parental leave benefits according to the prior policy are
not authorized the additional days.
* Active-duty as well as reserve component and National Guard Soldiers on active-duty
orders for 12 months or longer are covered.
* Soldiers have one year from the date of a qualifying event to use parental leave, unless
granted an extension.
* For the birth parent, parental leave is
authorized after the convalescent leave is over. * Non-married birth parents must establish parentage by following the criteria prescribed in Army Regulation 608-99 (Family Support,
Child Custody, and Parentage).
Expanded policy offers greater flexibility for Soldiers and their Families
* Soldiers may delay using leave to attend military education or if they deploy immedi- ately following a qualifying event.
* Soldiers may take regular leave between increments of parental leave or consecutively
Army photograph by Sgt. Micah Merrill
Spec. Dallas Ochoa, assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, reunites with his daughter, Kaylynn, following a homecoming ceremony at William Bill Reed Special Event Center, Fort Carson, Colo., Nov. 13, 2018.
with parental leave.
See FAMILY, Page 4