Fort Knox, Ky. – With 17 branches and over 190 occupational specialties designations, the Army offers no shortage of roles for its members. Every soldier can find something that’s right for them, and for some, the journey to finding their role begins at Cadet Summer Training.

Cadet Victoria Helmey, University of North Florida, is part of 10th Regiment, Advanced Camp. She’s here to fulfill her dream of becoming an officer, which will open doors to many new roles.

“As an officer, I’ll get to influence more people in a positive way and provide for my family in a way that’s more than what I could do as an enlisted person,” Helmey said. “I’ve always had the heart of a teacher and I really love coaching and mentoring people, not just on the military level, but really on a personal level.”

As part of the Green to Gold path, Helmey was prior enlisted in the military, along with her husband, who retired from the military so that Helmey could accept her university scholarship and pursue officer training.

“He’s been promoted to stay at home dad,” Helmey said. “So I have so much support from him being at home and being able to take care of a lot of the at-home stuff so I can focus on my studies. It’s hard being away from your family, but I feel very lucky that I have a really great support system at home. My husband is the best and I know that he’s really got it down.”

While being away from her family is a challenge, Helmey says she’s able to push through by keeping her eye on her end goal of becoming an officer. While away, she and her husband do everything they can to help the time pass quickly for their kids.

“I just found out that CST has a Flickr page and I sent my family the links so that they could see all the photos,” Helmey said. “Our kids have a copy of the CST calendar and so every day they’re like, ‘this is what Mom is doing today.’ And when we did the obstacle course, my husband pulled up some of the YouTube videos so the girls could see what we were going through that day. So even though they’re not here, they’ve been really involved in seeing the process and trying to understand what we’re doing. It makes it fun for them.”

Helmey isn’t the only Cadet in 10th Regiment, Advanced Camp, here to fulfill a dream; Cadet Elena Price, University of Oklahoma, sees her future career path lying within the Army. She is currently applying to medical school.

“My goal is to be a psychiatrist for the Army, to work with the soldiers on the behavioral health side of things and be a resource to them,” Price said. “I think we’re starting to understand the importance of the soldiers’ mental well being, especially when the lifestyle that we have isn’t always the best–they always say ‘embrace the suck’ for a reason. So I want to be able to help them push through some of the things they face and overcome any struggles that they have. It’s also difficult for soldiers to be away from their family, so that’s another big part of the mental health thing. So I just want to be a support system for the soldiers.”

Before they can achieve their dreams, these Cadets will have to pass CST Advanced Camp. On July 28, 2024, they got one step closer by completing the hand grenade assault course. Building a strong foundation with their basic soldier tasks is essential for any Army officer.

“These training events help us understand what a lot of the enlisted soldiers go through,” said Cadet Cody Rush, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Rush is a prior enlisted soldier who is now on the Green to Gold path to provide more benefits and stability for his family. “You have to know what your soldiers have gone through, to be able to sympathize and empathize with them. And as a leader, you can’t ask your soldiers to do anything that you wouldn’t do yourself. No matter what your MOS is, you need to have that knowledge, along with your soldiers, so that you can properly lead them.”

Even with booming thunder and flashes of lightning throughout the morning, these Cadets didn’t let that stop them from getting through that day’s training.

“A storm came while we were getting ready to do the hand grenade course, so we have to shelter in place, but we’re still keeping a positive attitude,” Price said. “We adjusted and now we’re getting ready to get out there and try our best. I honestly think it’s great to just be able to spend some quality time together. We can de-stress and look forward to what’s to come for us in the next few days before we get out to the field.”

Even while in the field, these Cadets will keep their eye on the end goal; while they each have their own motivations for becoming an Army officer, they know it will enable them to achieve the dreams they’re pursuing.