FORT KNOX, Ky. — 1st Regiment, Basic Camp Cadets crawled through the Night Infiltration Course (NIC) at Fort Knox, Ky. on July 14, 2023.

NIC introduces Cadets to the sounds of the battlefield by having them low-crawl across an approximately 100-meter field with bullets being shot overhead.

Cadet Nicholas Mahon from The Citadel, learned new skills as he navigated the course.

“This is all new to me,” Mahon said. “I learned land navigation, battle strategies and tactics, and field operations.”

Even though this training was new to Mahon, he used his strengths gathered from previous training to not only guide himself but other Cadets along the way.

“At the university that I go to, I’ve been placed in leadership roles where I was told to hold other people accountable,” Mahon said. “I would help them and show them in the right direction and where to go, so we’ve all been able to help each other learn.

Along with utilizing his strengths to learn new skills, Mahon ran into challenges that pushed him to adapt.

“There’s a lot of times where I kind of get into my own head, and I think I already know something; however, the drill sergeants have taught me to just be a sponge and to be open to all different areas,” Mahon said. “It’s just being open minded, looking where you can find information and finding the best of your situation.”

Cadet Jeffrey Xiao from Stony Brook University, encountered challenges during the course and had to adapt like Mahon.

“It was a very chaotic environment with seeing a lot of other Cadets sprawled out in front of you and trying to figure out how to navigate around them or help them get past for losses coming forward,” Xiao said. “I dealt with the challenges pretty well.”

Xiao adapted to the challenges by choosing to have an open mind going into the training.

“I had a decent amount of experience from my actual ROTC program before coming here, so I kind of had an arrogant mindset coming in,” Xiao said. “However, after a few weeks I learned that you never know everything, and there’s always something new to learn.”

Mahon and Xiao have not only gained new skills but have also been positively impacted by the social connections and sense of purpose the Army has gifted them.

“I’m an able-bodied American that believes that I’m able to serve because of the physicality that I was blessed with by the grace of God,” Mahon said. “It is my purpose and my reason that I should be able to serve, because I’ve been blessed with the ability to do so.”