Ft. Sill ceremony honors soldiers with Army expertise badges

FORT SILL, Okla. (KSWO) - On Friday, Fort Sill took the time to honor a group who went above and beyond to better themselves as soldiers.

In a ceremony, several soldiers were given the “Expert Infantry Badge” and “Expert Soldier Badge”

Each recipient went through five intense days of competition, which featured testing in 30 different lanes, two land navigation exams, two major PT tests and a 12-mile run.

But despite the difficulty, we spoke to 2nd Lieutenant Julia Qiao, who said she was more than happy to compete, grow and learn.

“I would say to other soldiers who are thinking about this that it’s definitely a good opportunity to try and go for it, even if you don’t receive it. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to learn all this stuff. I would have tried again and again until I got it., so it was a great training opportunity, and I’m grateful to have gotten that opportunity, so I encourage everyone to go better themselves and learn more,” said Qiao.

Qiao said she was grateful for the skills she gained during the training and hopes to apply them to her future military career, and maybe inspire other soldiers to push themselves to excellence.

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