FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets like Ken Knapp want to be the best they can be. On June 20, 2025, the Cadets assigned to 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp, brought their best to the hand grenade assault course.

The exercise tests Cadets’ competence in using hand grenades and individual movement techniques for combat scenarios like clearing bunkers and fortifications.

The course is spread out over a field where Cadets begin at one end and sprint across to the other while facing these challenges.

But these tasks were no match for Cadet Ken Knapp, Colorado State University, Alpha Company, who blew through the course and met every mark.

He was ready for Cadet Summer Training.

“I’ve always wanted to join the military,” said Knapp. “I was going to enlist right out of high school, but my grades were good enough to go to college, so I wanted to give ROTC a shot.”

As a student at Colorado State, Knapp is a history scholar and an avid reader, and he also loves to write.

As a leader in ROTC, Knapp runs the ranger challenge team, the program’s competitive varsity sport. The team runs exercises such as land navigation, 10K marches and more in the Rocky Mountains.

“I love doing it,” he said. “You get out there, you get to compete every single day and you get to train with a group of guys and gals who really want to be the best. That’s exactly the thing I’m looking to be.”

He wants to go all the way, too.

“I want to go to ranger school and be in the 75th Ranger Regiment,” said Knapp. “They’re the best of the best. They work the hardest. Their culture is all about getting better every single day.”

In his future, Knapp plans on serving 20 years in the Army to secure a life for himself and potentially have a family.