For 24 soldiers, completing a timed 12-mile foot march on Friday was all that stood in the way of obtaining a prestigious badge.

But as the finish line clock at Fort Carson’s Founder’s Field ticked up to the three hour time limit, it became clear that about half would return home without one.

Only 14 of the original 224 soldiers who began the 12-day testing process for the Expert Field Medical Badge crossed that line.

Some did so with heads tucked in determination, some with rifles and fists raised, others limping and wearing expressions of agony.

The finish line was dismantled and those who didn’t make time were turned away, including a soldier who missed the mark by mere seconds.

He was whisked away to a nearby aid station on the verge of tears.

“That’s my boy,” said Sgt. Willie Linson, gesturing to the soldier as medics hooked him up to an IV and handed him a banana. “Just checkin’ on my brother in arms over there.”

Linson, an active Army reservist who works as at Evans Army Community Hospital, finished the march with time to spare and was peeling an orange handed to him by a buddy.

“We met just 12 days ago, but we’ve played spades together and shared food,” he said of the soldier. “I gave him my canteen cup. I’ve got to take care of him. That’s what we do.”

Reservists aren’t always afforded the same training opportunities as active duty soldiers, Linson said.

“I made the best of it and now I have the badge,” he said, adding that earning the badge on his first try was the proudest accomplishment of his military career.

Many who test for the badge, which measures medical soldiers’ physical and mental resiliency and ability to perform tasks critical in combat, fail to earn it on their first try.

The badge’s average pass rate is only 17 percent, said Master Sgt. Daryl Forsythe, who helped execute the testing.

Something as small as losing a poncho or pair of socks can disqualify even the swiftest soldier during a post-march ruck-sack inspection.

“The attention to detail has to be so precise,” he said. “It’s a tough course. I definitely wish 24 would have started and finished.”

1st Lt. Ashley Browne, an environmental science engineering officer stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, was Friday’s only female finisher.

She gave birth to a daughter seven months ago.

“This was my motivation to get in shape,” Browne said before turning away to cheer on a comrade.

“Come on!” she screamed. “You’ve got this! You’re there!”

“I’m really proud of myself,” she said after her comrade crossed the finish line. “It’s my first time through.”  

Her husband, now at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, also earned the badge on his first try.

Browne said she entered Friday’s march determined to beat his time and wound up doing so “by a good five to 10 minutes.”

Though the badge’s 12 days of testing were filled tens of tasks on topics like evacuation and tactical combat casualty care, as well as several tests, Browne said the hardest part was being away from her daughter.

“I’m ready to get home to my baby tonight,” she said, adding that she couldn’t wait to call her husband and rub in her victory.

And Linson: He was looking forward to reuniting with his girlfriend and taking her out to eat.

“I’m going to kiss and hug her and eat sushi,” he said. “Protein. Gotta get protein in my system.”

An Expert Field Medical Badge candidate races to a foot march finish line Friday morning at Fort Carson’s Founder’s Field. Only 14 of the 224 soldiers, many from instillations other than Fort Carson, who began testing for the badge nearly two weeks ago made it through the testing and timed foot march, the badge’s final requirement. Photo by ERIN PRATER/THE GAZETTE

An Expert Field Medical Badge candidate races to a foot march finish line amidst cheers Friday morning at Fort Carson’s Founder’s Field. The badge’s average success rate if 17 percent, according to Master Sgt. Daryl Forsythe, who helped execute the testin Photo by ERIN PRATER/THE GAZETTE

Expert Field Medical Badge candidates receive aid Friday at Fort Carson’s Founder’s Field after a 12-mile foot march. Of the 224 candidates who began the badge’s 12-day testing process, only 24 made it through to the start of Friday’s march. Photo by ERIN PRATER/THE GAZETTE