FORT KNOX, Ky.─ As the sun begins to rise, Cadets assigned to Charlie Company, 7th Regiment, Advanced Camp, quietly approached the mission site, their weapons drawn as they completed one of the lanes during the Grizzly phase of Field Training Exercises at Cadet Summer Training on Fort Knox, Ky., July 28, 2025.

To Cadet Morgan Friedrich, University of Tampa, it is teamwork that has made her FTX experience.

“My platoon is really tight, we are always checking on each other, making sure we’re eating, drinking enough water,” Friedrich said. “We’re always helping each other whenever we can. We’ve learned that teamwork is what’s going to get us through everything.”

Through days of rain and humid summer heat, instead of letting tensions rise, Friedrich tries to keep her squad coordinated.

“If you don’t know how to work with people, you’re not going to be getting far,” she said. “We all come together and do these missions and agree on one task and complete it together as a team.”

Each team needs a leader, and it was the opportunity to step into leadership positions that drew Friedrich in.

“I feel like I’m a big organizer, and that helps in the Army,” she said. “Because everything you do here has to have a plan and be organized.”

After spending weeks with her platoon, Friedrich is dreading leaving those connections behind.

“I’m going to miss the people because the people are what got me through camp,” Friedrich said. “Being with everyone and doing this is all great, but I’m going to miss the connections.”

Many Cadets cherish the connections made throughout their training, something Cadet Kayla Olmeda, Arizona State University, knows from experience.

Olmeda joined the Army before joining ROTC, stationed in Hawaii for two years, where she worked as a paralegal specialist. Now in the Green to Gold program, she plans to continue pursuing the law.

“Just coming up from a law enforcement background, it always felt right to go that speed,” Olmeda said. “Some people waver along the way, wanting to do something different, but for me, it was always the same course.”

Getting to experience the tactical field environment was a new challenge for Olmeda, but one that she has since embraced.

“Before this, I knew nothing about field infantry attacks. Being out here has been one of the best experiences for me,” she said. “I was scared to come here, but its honestly made me love tactics even more. You get so much real-life hands-on experiences.”

She has persevered through her fears, combating anxiety centered around failure through the support of her platoon, confident that her fellow Cadets will be there to pick each other up whenever they fall.

After spending time as an enlisted soldier, it’s been an adjustment for her to switch into leadership roles.

“You take orders, do what you’re told and don’t really ask questions,” Olmeda said. “As I got into the program, you learn how to be an actual leader, that means you have to take control sometimes, to say how you feel, to make a decision and stick with it.”

Olmeda feels fortunate that she is able to enjoy the best of both worlds, a soldier who falls in line and a soon-to-be commissioned officer who can lead with her voice.

She wants to be the same kind of leader she had when she was enlisted.

“It’s just being someone that’s confident,” she said. “Confident in yourself, confident in your people. Just being a leader who’s always changing, who’s already able to adapt, who does their best no matter what.”