FORT KNOX, Kentucky – M240 machine gun fire fills the air as the red streak of a flare hisses through the night sky, illuminating the crawling figures of the Cadets from 2nd Regiment, Basic Camp, as they make their way through the Night Infiltration Course on Fort Knox, July 25, 2024.

Arriving under the cover of darkness, Cadets are instructed on their mission, a simulated night time breach into an enemy territory in the midst of a firefight. They use individual movement techniques to crawl 100 meters through various obstacles.  Once they commence their breach, Cadre serving as the simulated enemy forces fire M240 machine guns from towers overhead while blast pits on the course are set off in controlled explosions.

From the perspective of many Cadets having never before been introduced to such an environment, this experience can seem quite lifelike.  2nd Lieutenant Richie Westphal, stresses the importance of putting Cadets through such a realistic combat scenario. 

“The purpose is to introduce them to stress in a controlled environment,” Westphal said. “It’s probably more psychologically stressful, but it is also a very physical event.  But one of the good aspects of this is that it’s kind of a shock to teach them that they can react under that stress.”

Once Cadets break through their final obstacle, ending their demanding crawl, those emotions continue to run high as they reflect on the experience.

“It was just electric out there. Right from the first explosion I was like, oh shoot, let’s do this. I just started and didn’t look back,” exclaimed Cadet Joseph Barnett, University of Mississippi, still catching his breath from the adrenaline. “I was just so excited the whole time.”

Other Cadets such as Cadet Alejandra Rivera, Ana G. Méndez University, Puerto Rico, had to fight harder to overcome mental and physical demands while on the crawl. 

“I was anxious at the start. I thought this is gonna be Hell.” Rivera said.

To push back that fear, Rivera relied on the lessons for resilience she had learned during her time at Basic Camp.

“My drill sergeant always said that I’ll quit tomorrow,” Rivera explained. “I was like, one more and I’m near to the end. One more, One more, that’s the only thing my mind was repeating.”

Personal courage, facing your fears and adversities, is one of the core values of the Army shown to Cadets through their time at Basic Camp. Cadet Charlie Finstrom, Western Michigan University also reflected on those teaching through her crawl.

“I knew it was going to be hard but it was honestly a little bit less scary than I thought it would be,” Finstrom said. “It was stressful, but I feel like I’ve been through pretty stressful things in the past.  So it’s kind of just like a mental game, you’re gonna get through it like you’re fine.  Just push yourself.”

Through the stress and stimulation, there was even a hint of beauty to be found in the experience.

“Anytime the flare went off, I would turn on my back and look up at the sky to see all the fire across. It was really cool.”

Floodlights wash over the course as the last Cadets complete their crawl. The Drill Sergeants gather the 2nd Regiment into formation, Cadets ready to return to their barracks. They can now take back with them a sense of accomplishment for what they have overcome within the cover of night.