FORT KNOX, KY.– Staring straight ahead at the 64-foot-tall tower they were about to jump off of, anxiety and excitement flowed through the Cadets assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Regiment, Advanced Camp. 

“Are you scared?” one Cadet asked another as they fell into a single-file line, on their way to learn how to tie a swiss seat. For Cadets Abbie Haupt, Eastern Michigan University, and Madilynn Carter, Kent State University, the answer was yes. Carter was nervous. Haupt was mortified. 

“I’m not good with heights, never have been,” Haupt said. “On top of it, I don’t do well with rappelling.”

When she got to the top of the tower, Haupt was crying. She did breathing exercises to try and calm herself down. She tried to just be present in the moment, grounding herself by listening to the sounds around her and the encouragement coming from her battle buddies and Cadre. 

“I’m really grateful for the safety and the cadre that were up there,” she said. 

It took a lot of reassurance from the Cadre to get Carter down the tower. 

“I was really scared,” she said. “I was crying.”

It wasn’t her first time crying on a rappel tower. Carter, an enlisted Soldier as well as a Cadet, went to basic training at Fort Jackson last summer where she also cried on the tower. 

“That one I didn’t cry as much,” she said, “but this one just got me.”

Getting into an “L” shaped position by leaning off the side of the tower was the scariest, most difficult part of the entire exercise for her, especially on the side of the tower without the wall. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do it. 

“You’re just kind of in limbo waiting to go,” she said, “and then there’s nothing underneath you.”

Through their tears and dread, Carter and Haupt both found the bravery in themselves to jump. 

“Every bone in my body was like don’t go down the wall,” Haupt said.

Carter jumped and yelled, “Oh my god!”

Carter and Haupt both safely made it down the wall thanks to their trust in themselves, their equipment and their Cadre. 

“Little by little,” Haupt said, “once I started going, I was down the wall.”

Once they were off the tower, both Haupt and Carter were relieved to finally be done. 

“I don’t want to ever do it again,” Carter said. 

Even though it was scary and they hope to never have to do it again, both Cadets were glad they faced their fears and went off the tower. They learned lessons from the rappel tower they will take with them through the rest of their lives and Army careers. 

“It just pushes you to be better in so many ways,” Haupt said. “I just love it.”