FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets from 6th Regiment, Advanced Camp, spend the morning camouflaged into the foliage, in wait to ambush their incoming opposition, before springing into action, June 22, 2024, on Fort Knox. This operation is one of many simulated tactical scenarios conducted by Cadets during their Field Training Exercises for Cadet Summer Training.

Now at the final phase, also known as the Grizzly or “run” phase, of FTX, these operations are planned and conducted by Cadets independent from any Cadre, who serve solely as evaluators. Cadets are assigned to various leadership positions within each mission, allowing them to apply the leadership and tactical skills they have learned at CST in an environment simulated as close as possible to real combat situations.

Chosen to guide this morning’s mission as platoon leader was Cadet Jose Felix Perez Moran, The Citadel, South Carolina. Priorly enlisted in the Army for 10 years as a 92G Culinary Specialist, Perez had long desired to be a leader, specifically as an Army Officer. To achieve his goal, Perez worked with his Officers to apply for the Green to Gold Scholarship, allowing for him to continue being active duty while going to college full time.

As Platoon Leader, Perez had a hands-on role in every angle of this ambush operation, giving out the situation to the team, building the maneuver, and calling the shots during execution. Such heavy responsibility naturally brings about challenges of an equal weight that Cadets be mentally and emotionally prepared to face in the heat of the moment.

“For all of all of us out here, we’re all going to be platoon leaders,” explained Perez. “We all want to stay in that mindset of being a leader constantly and just just always making a decision. If it’s the right or the wrong decision, as long as you make a decision. If you ever get bogged down and hesitate, that can mean people dying.” 

Perez advises Cadets to focus on the moment and avoid an over reliance on forward planning. Platoon Leaders are given the information about their mission at the moment and only given a brief time to plan their maneuver before its execution. Since these exercises are designed to resemble real combat scenarios, situations can occur in the field forcing Platoon Leaders to adjust their plans in real time.

“For my lane ambush, we were tracking the enemy to come south to north but they actually came from the north and were going to the south,” Perez recounted. “So they saw our left side security and started to ambush us. That threw off our whole plan because our whole plan was to ambush them but now they were ambushing us. I had to quickly get my assault one offline, push them to the left of support, and then have them create an anti-flank maneuver so they couldn’t get through us and kill us from the back.”

When things go wrong, having key leaders in key positions ready to face any obstacles, is what keeps the morale of the squad, and the mission together.

“You want to keep calm, cool and collective constantly, especially as a leader because you project how your squad is going to be or feel,” said Perez. “We have to be that focal point of motivation for the rest of the platoon.”

It will be this mindset that carries along with the Cadets of 6th Regiment, Advanced Camp, as they finish out their Field Training Exercises, nearing the end of Cadet Summer Training and approaching their futures as U.S Army Officers.