Fort Knox, Ky. – Having completed land navigation that morning, Cadets assigned to Charlie and Delta Company, 2nd Regiment, Advanced Camp, returned to the woods at night to challenge their orienteering skills once again for night land navigation, June 19, 2025.

Night land navigation tasks Cadets with finding three assigned plot points in under three hours with the added struggle of low light. Similar to day-time land navigation, they complete this training exercise with only a map, compass and coordinates.

Cadet Khristian King, University of New Mexico, Delta Company, successfully located all seven of his points between day and night land navigation. King is a Green to Gold Cadet, previously enlisted for four years – now completing a degree in psychology with a passion for behavioral health.

“I know everybody’s going through something in one way or another, especially since we see and do things that are intense,” said King. “I want to make sure people can get through those situations with a positive attitude or at least look at them differently.”

King’s father, an Army Veteran, struggled with PTSD after falling victim to an improvised explosive device while deployed. His father has now surpassed his obstacles, but having first-hand experience of his struggles, King hopes to provide a sense of familiarity for Veterans in similar situations.

“I’m just trying to give back,” said King. “I want to provide a relatable sense of comfort for those who need it.”

King comes from a strong military background, from his grandfather, a former Colonel in the Air Force, to his two brothers now in the Army and Air Force. He summarized the impact of his experience in the Army thus far as having broadened his horizons.

“I’ve been to Romania twice now and all over Europe, it expanded my understanding of how different people’s lives and perspectives can be,” said King. “Everyone has a different walk of life, it’s shown me there isn’t just one way to approach most things.”

King, inspired by his father and driven by his peers, aims to join the Veterans Affairs Department later in his career to be the change he wants to see.

Similar to King, Cadet James Ammons, University of Alabama, Delta Company, comes from a military family and is using his degree and Army experience to understand the mind. He was originally a member of the United States Naval Academy but made the switch to the Army at 19.

“It’s a lot more advantageous,” said Ammons. “They have a lot of different job opportunities, because of that, the Army was obviously the go-to.”

Double-majoring in psychology and neuroscience, Ammons hopes to address mental health issues in the Army and civilian world, preparing himself to make an impact on a larger scale.

He describes his approach as more than just awareness, he’s focused on promoting action. Outside of ROTC and his degree coursework, Ammons is involved in five different research labs to build up his expertise.

“I have the experience of Cadets, I have the experience of Soldiers and the experience of my family being in the military too,” said Ammons. “I want to be actually working with people, running those assessments and making sure what’s found is valuable and reliable.”

Ammons attributes his polished discipline to the Army and hopes to further his education through a masters degree. His advice for future Cadets both at Cadet Summer Training and in life is to not fear mistakes.

“Making a wrong turn doesn’t mean there isn’t another way to get where you need to be,” said Ammons. “If you have a dream, if you have direction and if you have drive, that’s all you need.”