USAICoE Soldiers Push Limits to Earn Norwegian Sports Badge
FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – Seventeen Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (USAICoE), earned the Norwegian Sports Federation Sports Badge in the bronze category Oct. 5.
The Soldiers successfully completed a grueling, four-event physical fitness challenge designed to test a broad spectrum of athletic capabilities. To fulfill the requirements, each Soldier selected and completed exactly one event from each of the following four performance categories:
· Speed: 60-meter sprint, 120-meter speed walk · Power & Agility: standing long jump; standing high jump · Strength: push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, sit-ups · Endurance: 5-kilometer Ruck
Sgt. Dacotah Lane, a visual information support specialist with the Learning Innovation Branch, saw the event as both a personal challenge and a unique way to train outside of normal Army Physical Training.
“To me the badge shows a willingness to set yourself apart and gain a deeper understanding of what your allies train for to maintain their PT standards,” he said. “It’s cool because it’s new and you get to keep doing it to get a new badge each year.”
The event was organized and hosted by Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Bowlin, an observer/assessor with Intelligence-Transformation Lessons Learned Manager, USAICoE, and Staff Sgt. David Easterwood, a 35M training developer, HHC USAICoE, to boost morale within the unit and provide an opportunity for Soldiers to earn a prestigious foreign award.
“Our goal was to challenge the Soldiers, while creating an opportunity for them to earn something to be proud of,” Bowlin said. “The true measure of success came right after the final ruck march. Despite the physical exhaustion, Soldiers were smiling, laughing, and building genuine camaraderie.”
The Norwegian Sports Federation Sports Badge, or Idrettsmerket, is a foreign award intended to stimulate interest in sports and physical fitness. The badge was recently approved for wear on the Army Service Uniform, following the publication of the new HRC Foreign Award Badge Chart on Jan. 12, 2026.
“The Sports Badge is a progressive decoration. Year one earns the Bronze, year five earns the Silver, and year nine earns the Gold,” said Easterwood. “Because the badge was just authorized for wear, Soldiers who earn it in calendar year 2026 are pioneers who stand among the first in the Army eligible to earn silver and gold badges over the course of their careers. It's a striking, highly visible badge that indicates sustained physical excellence and honors our NATO partnerships.”
The successful completion of the event marks a significant achievement for the 17 Soldiers, who can now wear the badge as a testament to their superior physical conditioning and resilience.
Easterwood said he highly recommends that other units across Fort Huachuca take on this challenge.
“The evaluation itself requires minimal logistical overhead and operational footprint. Any unit on Fort Huachuca can leverage existing installation facilities to host an event,” he said. “It fosters healthy competition, boosts morale, and awards Soldiers a badge that will follow them throughout their career. I hope to see this event grow across the installation and the wider force so that more Soldiers can test their limits and work toward the coveted gold badge.”
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