Fort Knox, Kentucky, – Leaders go last.

Cadet Gabriel Duran, The University of Arizona, learned this lesson from his older brother, whose service in the Army inspired Duran to pursue a military career of his own. Working to become the first officer in his family, Duran now finds himself pushing past sore muscles and mental fatigue as he endures the Teamwork Development Course, designed to grow Cadets’ leadership cooperation skills.

“Doing events like this is really important because it honestly shows the flaws that we need to work on in order to be leaders, which is essentially what we’re trying to work towards: being officers in the Army,” Duran said. “And in order to be an officer, you’ve got to have pretty good leadership qualities, and this helps us to learn the values and the basics of being a leader.”

At TDC, on July 14, 2024, Cadets of 1st Regiment, Basic Camp, face challenges designed to improve their teamwork as they figure out ways across various obstacles. No battle buddies can be left behind. Whether a Cadet’s strength is mental or physical, they all have a part to play.

“You need a team,” said Cadet Persely Owusu, Eastern Illinois University. “You need somebody who’s got your back when you can’t solve this problem. Somebody may know the answer to that problem and help you figure it out in the fastest way.”

While the course fosters teamwork in its Cadets, it doesn’t come without its hiccups.

“I definitely think the biggest challenge was people– too many chefs and not enough room in the kitchen,” said Cadet Seth Johnson, University at Albany. “Because we’re all trying to do our best to be leaders. And I feel like it’s really hard to all be leaders if we’re all doing the same task.”

The Army attracts future leaders. Cadets come with opinions and experience that they want to implement into their training at Cadet Summer Training. When everyone has a different strategy, compromise is the only solution.

“Honestly, it takes a lot,” Duran said. “We’re here from different places. We have different views, different perspectives on a lot of things. So the teamwork aspect is super important because you’ve got to learn to collaborate. You’ve got to all come together and share a single point of view in order to succeed in whatever our task is. I think it’s very valuable that we’re working on this.”

While brainstorming strategies and having the strength to implement them is important, this course teaches an often overlooked essential skill: listening.

“I believe that a good leader is also a good follower,” Johnson said. “You have to know how to follow and how to listen even when you want to lead or do it on your own.”

Supporting your battle buddies and achieving the objective is always the goal. Whether you need to work on your strategy, endurance, or ability to lead by following, every Cadet can get something out of TDC.

As Cadets study the obstacle, the leader guides them to the best strategy. As the Cadets work to cross it, the leader stays calm and listens to the needs of their platoon. And once every member of the platoon is across the obstacle, then the leader follows.