NY Army Guard Corporal Dakoatah Miller, a Cortland resident, earns Army's prestigious Expert Infantryman Badge
Miller is also the winner of the Northeast region Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition and will compete in national event in July
Latham, NY (05/26/2021) — Army National Guard Corporal Dakoatah Miller, a Cortland resident who will compete in the Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition in July, has been awarded the Army's prestigious Expert Infantryman Badge.
The 21-year old Miller is a member of the Scout Platoon of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment which is based in Utica. He joined the New York Army National Guard in 2017.
The Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB for short, is awarded to infantry Soldiers who demonstrate exceptional aptitude in physical, mental and marksmanship skills an infantryman must possess.
In order to qualify for the badge Soldiers must complete a timed day and night land navigation course, they must get a pass on from 30 to 35 individual infantry skills involving first aid, communications, map reading, night vision devices, weapons proficiency, calling for artillery fire, tactical movement, and chemical warfare.
They are required to score expert on their assigned weapon, in most cases the M-4 carbine, and complete a 12 mile march, carrying an M-4 and a 70 pounds load in no more than three hours.
The EIB is a silver and enamel badge with the image of a 1795 Springfield musket on it.
Miller was awarded the badge on May 21, following a week of testing which began on May 17.
On May 7, Miller was declared the winner in the junior enlisted category at the Northeast region Best Warrior competition held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. He defeated the top Army National Guard Soldiers from New England and New Jersey to get the chance to be the best junior enlisted Soldier in the 350,000-member Army National Guard.
Miller holds an Associate of Science degree from Tompkins County Community college and is working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology at SUNY Cortland. Kinesiology is the study of human body movement.
He is a graduate of the Army's Air Assault School and Distributed Leader Course.
He has been awarded an Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.
Media Attachments
FORT DRUM, N.Y. – U.S. Army Cpl. Dakoatah Miller, an infantryman with the New York National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, listens to testing instructions by a 10th Mountain Division lane coach during the Division’s Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) assessment at Fort Drum, N.Y., May 17, 2021. EIB testing is a five-day assessment focusing on land navigation, weapon qualifications, a 12-mile foot march and multiple individual tasks designed to test proficiency in infantry skills. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Warren Wright Jr.)