FORT KNOX, Ky. ─ With their feet planted firmly on a wooden plank, Cadets assigned to 9th Regiment, Advanced Camp, carefully rolled a heavy barrel across an obstacle during the Field Leadership Reaction Course at Cadet Summer Training on Fort Knox, Ky., July 25, 2025.

Cadet Pascal Anderson, University of Texas at San Antonio, saw the challenges presented in the FLRC early on.

“It started out a little bit rougher because we had many chefs trying to make the same soup,” Anderson said. “Over time, we were able to narrow it down. We had a structured chain of communication, everybody had a voice, but it wasn’t everybody at once anymore.”

At each obstacle, a Cadet is chosen to serve as the team leader and receive the course instructions, evaluated on their ability to lead.

“Leadership makes or breaks the formation,” he said. “Good leadership motivates the formation and gives clear concise direction. Whichever situation I was thrown in, I found good leadership.”

Before joining Army ROTC, Anderson gained leadership experience through his enlistment in the U.S. Army as a radiology technician and from his life experience back in Germany.

Anderson was a part of the last group drafted into the German Military before the draft was officially suspended in 2011. After later leaving the German Military, he had a police officer position lined up, but while visiting family in Louisiana, Anderson found himself wishing to reside there.

“When I went back, I canceled all my plans, I went to the embassy, I got my passport and everything,” he said. “And then I moved over. I decided to enlist again and be more focused on getting actual skills.”

Anderson considers himself to be a coordinator, wanting to have a bigger impact in helping his fellow soldiers.

“You have to know your teammates,” Anderson said. “To know the strengths and weaknesses, so you guys can come together and build a constructive team because no one is good at everything.”

Nobody is perfect, a sentiment Cadet Colin Nicassio, Virginia Military Institute, strongly believes.

“It’s possible to do everything right and still fail, that’s not error, that’s life,” Nicassio said. “That’s something CST is really meant to teach you, you can be perfect in everyway that you think, but someone’s not going to see it that way.”

Nicassio joined Army ROTC to fulfill his need to serve while applying himself academically, wanting to attend law school to become a Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps officer.

“They defend people whenever there’s legality or ethic concerns,” he said. “They’re the ultimate support area because only certain people can help you when it comes to legality and that’s really important to get right.”

While working with his fellow Cadets, Nicassio believes confident communication is key to leadership.

“It just comes down to confidence and your ability to perceive things just by looking at them and then communicate them effectively,” Nicassio said. “But if they’re not able to say that then an air of question is going to come in.”

The FLRC obstacles require Cadets to showcase quick planning and efficient teamwork, as every second counts.

“When we work together, you find people’s strengths and weaknesses, not all the squads are the same,” he said. “You have to figure out how to get your board together.”

While moving equipment from point A and point B, the execution of tasks rests in the Cadet’s hands, each solution formed out of the strength of their communication and leadership skills.