FORT KNOX, Ky. — After a night of rainfall, Cadets with 8th Regiment, Advanced Camp, prepare to maneuver through the muddy woodline for their Day Land Navigation exercise as part of Cadet Summer Training, June 17, 2024, on Fort Knox, Kentucky. During this event, Cadets are tested on their ability to use navigational tools, such as a compass, map, and protractor, to locate five checkpoints in the unfamiliar terrain under a time limit of four hours.

Navigating through Fort Knox’s dense vegetation can be tricky. But for Cadet Brody Jacks from Ouachita Baptist University, confidence came easy. Learning from his father at a young age, being a woodsman is all he had ever known.

“Growing up, whether I was hunting or backpacking through the woods, I spent a lot of time just walking through the woods and having to fight to figure out how to get my way back when I wander off too far. So reading maps and navigation has been something I’ve been doing for quite a while,” recalled Jacks.

Jacks acknowledged that his level of experience was not universally shared by his fellow Cadets. Working isolated from their squad, Cadets must rely solely on themselves to find their way through the course. That trust in themselves can be hard to gather for Cadets with less experience in these wooded environments.

Jacks observed this in his fellow Cadets saying “I see a lot of times, people that aren’t as comfortable walking through the woods- they have to get over that hurdle, that fear of being alone.”

The unique terrain of Fort Knox, Kentucky, can bring about its own difficulties, even for Cadets with navigational experience. Cadet Summer Training brings in Cadets from programs from every area of the United States. Given the vast expanse of land covered, the type of terrain Cadets practice land navigation in at their individual programs vary greatly from state to state.

“I’d say it’s [the terrain] pretty similar down south, where I am from. Except the pine trees are different. But the vegetation is definitely a similar density,” commented Cadet Sean Runner from Auburn University, Alabama.

Cadet Rashanique Dokei, University of Central Florida, had a rougher transition to the forests of Kentucky. Priorly enlisted as a combat medic, Dokei had received land navigation training both at basic training on Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and at her ROTC program in Florida.

“In Florida when we practice land navigation, there isn’t that many big trees like this. I went to Fort Jackson and it was more like woods, not as dense. It’s more brush. You can walk through the woods and you can see probably 300 meters out. This is my first time actually going up hills for land navigation and not being able to see your point because of how dense the vegetation is,” said Dokei.

Like Jacks, Dokei observes that the Cadets who grew up with the woods hold greater confidence in their abilities but challenges the idea that it is the dominant factor of success during Day Land Navigation. There are Cadets from the city who score perfect and Cadets from the country who struggle to pass.

To Dokei, the primary factor of success is a Cadet’s ability to absorb what they learn during Cadet Summer Training.

“I think it just depends on how you carry yourself. Can you trust yourself? Can you use the knowledge that they teach you? And could you put aside what you know, to learn how they do it?” said Dokei.

The purpose of Day Land Navigation is to assess Cadets in their ability to utilize what they have learned in an unfamiliar environment effectively. They are all put into the same position where they are dependent on being able to properly apply their knowledge.

Dokei concluded her thoughts saying “It’s not about your background, it’s about adjusting.”