What are some things I need to know about the EIB? How long is it? What is it composed of, and how difficult is it?

The EIB is both a test and a training tool. Do not take it lightly. Read your -10. Know your job. You are what this badge is all about. You'll be tested on just about everything your -10 says you should be able to do. Range Cards? Yes, for all you weapons that you could be using. Land nav? Yes. Remember key words like Degrees, Field of Fire, etc... Think your weapon is something that you own. How do you care for it? What can you do to clean it? Function check? How do you Call for Fire?
Almost 40 years after I got out of the service, I still remember all of this. But this was what was in my -10 while I was in service. Yours might be different. But not by much.
Good Luck and start reading.

About 2 weeks for actual test if BDE and not BN. They will post a study guide- it is a bitch. Expert shot, passes on land nav, call for fire, 1st aid, weapon stoppages( correctly), weapon tear down and re- assembly- and a multitude of others to include time ruck march. When I did it in 74 I think there of about 50 awardees out of 200+ in the BN, only 6 of us did not have a retest (allowed on 1)

Brother... just focus and pay attention to detail. This is the one test that you focus in how you are in -10 level tasks. Just focus on one at a time and don't be afraid to practice the shit out of each and everyone of them.

Good luck.... got mine in the 80s.

You don't have to worry about the Dragon. It was a bitch.

Son, ... You should be getting this prep work from your fire team or squad leader. Make sure you are already qualified on all infantry weapons. Be able to use a map, compass an protractor. At least know the compass and the map and how to read contour lines (for calling in indirect fire). Know how to read longitude and latitude (for calling in air strikes). You have to know this. The whole thing is a harsh process. But worth it!
Good luck.

EIB consists of a PT test for record, Assigned weapons qualification for record, 12 mile road march in under 3-4 hours (forget which but remember that I had to cheat to make that time by running parts of it), and a multi-station test of Common Infantry Tasks and Skills from your Soldiers Manual (basically the CTT test part of OSUT). I forget how many stations but I think it was 12-18 stations. You have to master the CTT tasks and perform them exactly to the specs in the Army manual or they mark you a NO-GO. The PT Test you have to achieve a specific score. PT test and Road March were pretty easy to pass. The CTT test part is where they NO-GO most participants. Weapons Qualification you should always MAX if your Active Duty Infantry.....I had no problem doing so. So again just the CTT tasks are the issue in my past experience and it is because you have to perform them exactly how they are in the manual. You also do not know in advance what CTT tasks they will pick out of the manual until your actually testing on them (which also adds to the difficulty of getting them all exactly correct). Now having said the above I had two bullshit EIB's and one properly conducted EIB during my three years in the Army. A bullshit EIB is where the NCO's in charge manipulate the CTT portion so only the Soldiers they want to see pass, actually pass it You might see that but I hope you don't and hope it is conducted fairly and honestly. My experience only the 101st Airborne did it right. 2nd Armored Division was a disaster. So your experience might also depend on unit. Also when I was in uniform and the CIB was more rare, CIB holders did not have to participate if they did not want to and they could even stand as a NCOIC at a EIB station in place of a past EIB holder. Not sure if they still do that since CIB's are a lot more prevalent now.

Everything that's related to infantry, study and know it well, even the low craw with your rifle into a ditch.

Its been a while but here was what I had to do. Qualify expert with M16. I believe there were about 20 individial tasks that had to be performed and then a 12 mile road march timed. At the end of the road march you had to disassemble and reassemble your weapon timed. It wasn’t easy. Basically. 3 days total. One day for each phase. Depends on how your unit has it set up.

Here is a link you might find helpful on EIB guidelines. If you think about some of these red font guidelines and the ups and downs of Army end strength........some of them can't be followed all the time.....just another opinion I have based on what I have seen. You will find the distribution of EIB holders among various Infantry units to be varied. Some units will have a lot of them others not so much. At least it was that way in the 1980's. So today's ABSOLUTE guideline that everyone that is Cadre must have an EIB was very difficult to meet in some units without borrowing from others or subbing in CIB holders. That might not be the case today. Then again, the 1950's EIB (before my time) had a 25 mile timed road march as an event. The events and requirements change over time.

http://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/EIB/content/pdf/USAIS350-6.pdf

As Told to me by a platoon sergeant from another platoon, there are now changes to the eib testing. Some changes are the PT test as it incorporates a four or five mile run but it is gender neutral due to women joining the Infantry. I applaud you for your motivation on wanting to be an eib holder. You differentiate yourself from your peers as many don't want to do it but have to go through it versus you who want to achieve something better of yourself.


It consists of the prerequisites that you need such as shooting expert with your weapon, at least a 240 on your PT test, and other stuff for your packet.
On the first day you just need to pass your PT test and Land Navigation.
The Land Navigation is a day and night iteration so please be aware of that. Practice on your Land Navigation skills as much as possible. If you were anything like me you can do everything on the map but when it comes to being boots-on-the-ground it's a completely different story lol. Make sure you know your pace count for 100m on flat terrain and uneven Terrain. But most importantly, practice Land Navigation in real-time. Plot a point and go out and find it. That's the best way you can learn.
There was someone that stated about multi-task Lanes in eib. The Fort Benning eib committee has gotten away with that in lieu of each lane having 10 stations.
And these lanes are: the patrol Lane, the weapons Lane, and the medical Lane.
Each lane has 10 stations that reflects certain tasks for each lane such as how to wrap a burn, assemble, fire, and disassemble an M4, and how to determine your location using resection on a map.
Then there is the infamous 12-mile ruck march at the end of the test. If you're physically fit you will have no issues with this.
Most importantly just remember that everything will be done, for the most part, in sequence. Have that attention to detail that will make you stand out above your peers.


Get that arm ready for the dark crucible: Grenades.