1st Lt. Maria Eggers, 24, has become the first woman and the first Latina from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment to earn the Expert Infantry Badge (EIB), qualifying at the highest level — True Blue, NBC News reported.
1st Lt. Maria Eggers
Eggers earned the EIB in April by finishing a five-day test that measures physical fitness and ability to perform in various critical infantry skills. Fewer than 100 women in the U.S. Army have received it.
Eggers is a platoon leader in the 1st Squadron, managing 37 soldiers. She has been at Fort Hood for more than nine months.
“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.”
