Last Updated: June 13th, 2024By Tags: , , ,


FORT KNOX, Ky. – After a thunderstorm rolled through Fort Knox, Ky., June 25, 2023, 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets braced themselves for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training. During CBRN training, Cadets are required to take off their protective gas masks in the confidence chamber.

2nd Lt. Ethan Miles checks over a Cadet’s protective gas mask during chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training at Fort Knox, Ky., June 25, 2023. Miles graduated from Advanced Camp last summer and said the best way to get through Cadet Summer Training is to embrace it. | Photo by Kate Koennecke, Ohio State University, CST Public Affairs Office

 

Since completing Advanced Camp last summer, 2nd Lt. Ethan Miles, a recent graduate from the Virginia Military Institute, is now in charge of masking accountability and distribution during CBRN training for the entirety of Cadet Summer Training. Miles has witnessed Advanced Camp Cadets from every regiment make their way through the confidence chamber since the start of CST.

Miles described what it feels like to be exposed to tear gas in the confidence chamber.

“Your eyes start to burn, and you start coughing up mucus, [and] then, your nose starts to run. Once you’re out of the chamber, it takes about two minutes for you to fully recover, and it’s not that bad.”

After experiencing the CBRN chamber himself last summer, Miles said that going through the chamber was an experience worth having. The biggest piece of advice he has for incoming Advanced Camp Cadets is to ‘be ready to embrace’ training.

Miles said, “Try to have fun with Advanced Camp. Who knows when the next time you get to go through a gas chamber is going to be, so just live it up. Try to enjoy most of it.”

Advanced Camp Cadets from 3rd Regiment break into their ‘happy dance’ after completing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training at Fort Knox, Ky., June 25, 2023. Cadet Spencer Brooks (center) said that he was the one who got his squad to start ‘happy dancing’ throughout training. | Photo by Kate Koennecke, Ohio State University, CST Public Affairs Office

Another person on the same page as Miles is Cadet Spencer Brooks from Virginia Tech. Brooks encouraged his fellow Cadets to break out into their ‘happy dance’ after recovering from the confidence chamber. ‘Happy dancing’ is just one of the tactics that Brooks uses to keep his squad in a good mood during training.

Brooks explained, “I got my squad to get into the happy dance. I did it in front of our master sergeant when we first met him. He looked at me like I was crazy, but then, it ended up sticking with the rest of the group.”

Two of Brooks’ fellow teammates, Cadet Dina Wen from Tulane University and Cadet Lila Denning from Michigan State University, believe that the positive energy of the people around them has made getting through Advanced Camp easier. They said that ‘the secret’ to completing Advanced Camp is ‘rolling together,’ and lifting each other up.

Brooks said, “A big thing is communicating and keeping people positive. Trying to get everyone through the hardships, and having fun doing so has been the hardest part. The biggest thing is trying to get them all to come together. Do something positive so everyone’s upbeat.”

Cadet Dina Wen (left) and Cadet Lina Denning from 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp, get ready to remove their protective masks during chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training at Fort Knox, Ky., June 25, 2023. Wen and Denning said that ‘rolling together’ throughout training has made Advanced Camp less stressful. | Photo by Kate Koennecke, Ohio State University, CST Public Affairs Office

 

 

Brooks has used his creativity to bring his squad closer together during Advanced Camp. His squad has been using the phrase, ‘kind of, kind of mostly,’ as their motto to move beyond the hardships of camp.

Whether it be adapting to training during a storm or having to take off a protective mask inside a gas chamber, Brooks plans on continuing to ‘kind of, kind of mostly’ advance his way through the rest of CST.  

About the Author: Kate Koennecke
Kate Koennecke
Kate Koennecke is a rising junior at The Ohio State University double-majoring in Political Science and Strategic Communications. This summer, Koennecke will be working as a Public Affairs Intern, covering events throughout Cadet Summer Training this summer as a Photojournalist. Koennecke has had many experiences working in the public sphere, including interning for the Ohio Statehouse for the Ohio Democratic Caucus in the Senate in the fall of 2022. Once this summer comes to an end, Koennecke hopes to take back her knowledge of Public Affairs back to the Buckeye state with her.