FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets from 1st Regiment, Basic Camp, completed the Team Development Course at Fort Knox, Ky., July 13, 2023. The TDC consists of different obstacles that are designed to mentally and physically challenge Cadets. They must learn to critically think, solve problems, and work together as a team to find solutions to the obstacles.

Cadets had 10 minutes to plan and 20 minutes to execute the plan. Cadet Alex Poynter from Tarleton State University, 1st Regiment, Basic Camp, mentioned what obstacle he faced during the TDC.

“We did event number four, which was the destroyed bridge,” Poynter said. “We had our squadmates [team mates] and we’re supposed to work as a team to get everybody across on top of a barrel, without touching the ground for time allocations.”

Cadets are allowed to use the equipment board provided to help them move their team across without touching the ground or the equipment hitting the ground. This makes it challenging for them to work together as a team and forces them to think outside the box. Poynter mentioned the purpose of training on the TDC.

“Enhancing team cohesiveness,” Poynter said. “When you get a bunch of random people together that you have never met before and are doing stuff like this shows that everybody has something to offer.”

While multitasking, Poynter mentioned his mindset during the middle of training on the obstacle while helping his team.

“Dear Lord, I hope we hurry up, that way we can get this done,” Poynter said. “A little too hyper competitive sometimes and I didn’t want to lose to our other squadmates. We were so close to getting it done, we were cutting that time hack, I didn’t want that in our squad [because they] have worked so hard. I wanted to make sure our squad was able to complete the goal.”

Every year, Cadets from Basic Camp train on the TDC and Poynter mentioned what it prepares Cadets for as future officers. He said, in order to be an effective leader, it’s expected that you sit down and listen to your noncommissioned officers.

Cadet Jade Herndon from University of South Florida, 1st Regiment Basic Camp, trained on a different obstacle with a similar objective as Poynter’s

Herndon mentioned what was going on in her head while in the middle of helping her battle buddy get on the other side of the course.

“I took a risk, I decided to get up there on the obstacle because we had one person [on the obstacle who needed assistance]. I was trying to figure out how we are going to get my team over the obstacle without the board toppling over because it is pretty heavy when you have to hold only one end of the board,” Herndon said. 

“I was a little nervous coming in and the obstacles are definitely intimidating when you look at them but it gets fun as you finish them,” Herndon said. “You learn from your failures. So next time we’re definitely gonna do better.”