FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets from 7th Regiment, Advanced Camp, execute their battle march and shoot training exercise on Fort Knox, Ky., on July 9, 2023.

Battle march and shoot simulates the fatigue that can appear while on active duty, pushing Cadets to remain prepared for combat.

“The battle march and shoot is a [roughly] four-mile ruck to make us really tired, and then we get 40 rounds and put them on a target,” said Cadet Geoffrey Takacs, University of Connecticut. “It’s to make sure that we can stay calm and even after working out, being under pressure, we can make those shots down the range.”

This exercise places Cadets into the mindset of deployment, tiring them out and pressuring them to perform just as well as if they had simply arrived at the range that morning.

“It gives us the experience of going those long distances and having to engage an enemy without rest,” said Cadet Lauren Surette, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “Having practice with this now helps us to understand our responsibilities later on.”

Each Cadet has something that brings them into the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, something that motivates and inspires them to keep driving ahead.

“I wanted to serve my country. I started out as a firefighter, serving my community, and this seemed like a logical step to serve my country,” Takacs said. “My big inspiration is doing this for the people back home. I think everyone’s got their own thing pushing them.”

For many Cadets, their inspiration isn’t necessarily a sense of duty, but a family member or close friend that truly pushes them to who they want to be.

“My biggest inspiration is my grandfather,” said Cadet Mason Kizer, Sam Houston State University. “Before he passed, he said he wanted me to do my best in whatever I set out to accomplish. He was an officer in the Navy, so I wanted to follow his calling into the Army and become an officer myself.”

Family inspires direction for their children. Sometimes that’s further away but many times children end up following in their parents’ footsteps.

“My father was in the Army for 21 years. I’ve always looked up to him and wondered if that could be the path for me,” Surette said. “Coming out of high school, I didn’t really know what to do, but I knew I was looking for a family unit. Sure enough, it turned out that [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps] would provide something of that nature.”

Cadet Summer Training is a milestone for many current and prior Soldiers. Each Cadet comes in with their own story, their own drive and their own goals.

“My dad’s a big inspiration,” said Cadet Amber Anderson, University of Minnesota. “He was also enlisted, and I remember growing up, he always told me I could do whatever I wanted to do. He’s always been a huge supporter for me. When I get back to our barracks today, I’m going to call my dad and be like ‘guess what I did!’. I know that he’ll be proud of me.”