Since earlier I posted on my FB a bit about two female ROK Army soldiers earning the coveted U.S. Army Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB), I thought I might expand a little on the subject, give a background on the whole EIB business as to why it is such a big deal. Also, give more information about the Republic of Korea's women in the military.
First, the background on the ROK women in the military. The Republic of Korea, Army, Navy and Air Force were founded in 1948, two years before the Korean War broke out. In 1950, during the war, because of the acute shortage of men, women were accepted into the military, primarily to serve in administrative capacity and as nurses. Just as in America during WWII, women in Korea were not drafted, they were recruited and joined voluntarily. Although the ROK Army, Navy and Air Force did not use women in combat, the U.S. Army used Korean women in combat as guerrilla fighters in the UNPFK program. When the cease fire took place in 1953, many of the surviving men and women of the UNPFK transitioned into ROK Army. The UNPFK veterans became the foundation for the new ROK Army Airborne units, since they were all already parachute qualified! The women were put in non-combat roles, but, it didn't take long for the ROK Army to realize that perhaps they could use women in combat roles as well, especially since the UNPFK veterans were all combat veterans! By the 1990s women were fully integrated into ROK Army in various roles.
In the Republic of Korea, all men are required to serve two years in the military. Women are not required to do military service, so all women service personnel are volunteers. Surprisingly, military service is very popular in South Korea and many women, after graduating college seek to enter service and be commissioned through Officers Candidate School program. Others seek direct appointments to one of the three service academies. All in all, military service seems to be viewed differently in South Korea than here in America. In the 1990s, just about all military jobs became open to women and today, all jobs are open! That is why the two women NCOs from the ROK Army could compete for the U.S. EIB. They had already earned the ROK equivalent of the U.S. badge! In contrast, the U.S. Army still does not allow women to serve in the Infantry with an Infantry MOS (military occupational specialty).
The Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) was created in 1943, the same time as the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). The difference, of course, is that the CIB is earned by participating in ground combat while EIB is earned through vigorous testing, a five day testing of various infantry skills. In order to earn a CIB you must have served in combat with an Infantry or Special Forces unit. Since the War on Terrorism (Afghanistan and Iraq) started in the early 21st Century, a new badge was created, the Combat Action Badge (CAB) which is issued to anyone who is not in the Infantry or Special Forces and has served in combat zone, not necessarily in direct combat, although initially it was meant only for those who served directly in combat. The CAB is more or less like the Navy's (and Marines) and Air Force's Combat Action Ribbon (CAR).
In order to qualify to take the test for the EIB, like the CIB, you must have either an Infantry or Special Forces MOS. Women are not yet allowed to serve in either one of those categories in the U.S. Army, so, women could not take the test. However, since the two Korean women were awarded the EIB in October of 2014, the Army had to do some soul searching and make some changes. Now, female soldiers who are serving in an Infantry unit, can take the EIB test, even if they don't have an Infantry MOS. Since the change was made, a U.S. Army female Sergeant Major became the first woman in the U.S. Army to earn the EIB. So, you could say that the two Korean women soldiers paved the way for American women soldiers. Ironically, it was for a U.S. Army award!
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