421st Medical Battalion
VILSECK, Germany, March 24, 2015 – Army 1st Lts. Ashley and
Grant Restuccio are a long way from where their relationship started at Fort
Sam Houston, Texas, and the newlyweds are now competing side-by-side to earn
the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge.
The Restuccios first met at the Basic Officer Leadership
Course on Fort Sam Houston, the Army’s premier medical training hub and their
first duty station. They got married and soon received orders to Germany.
They both serve in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.
Grant, a California native, works for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center as an
intensive care unit nurse, while Ashley, a New York native, works for the 21st
Theater Sustainment Command’s 30th Medical Brigade as a medical surgical nurse.
During their EFMB qualification trials, they’re assigned to
the same platoon, working together to earn the prestigious badge.
Intense Competition
Less than two months ago, both Restuccios attended an EFMB
preparation course at Camp Aachen in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Now, they find
themselves among 187 other candidates also competing for the badge. Only the
Restuccios are doing so as a husband-and-wife team.
“We both want to be expert field medics and join the other
elite badge holders in the Army medical department. That is why we are here,”
Ashley said. “It’s just an added bonus to be competing together.”
Armywide in 2012, the EFMB course boasted only a 17 percent
pass rate. This year’s candidate roster consists mainly of soldiers serving
across Europe, but a handful of allied medics from the United Kingdom and
Germany are also competing in the mix.
The competition may be intense, with rewards commensurate
with the effort. But the Restuccios view their partnership as an advantage.
“With both of us here, it’s easier to strive for excellence
because neither of us wants to let the other one down,” Grant said. “We both
expect the other to do the best we can, meanwhile holding each other
accountable.”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment