FORT KNOX Ky., ─ Dirt covered hands claw through the terrain, with their faces planted in the turf as they attempt to keep their profiles low. Cadets assigned to Delta Company, 1st Regiment, Basic Camp, pushed themselves through demanding obstacles designed to test their mental and physical limits during the Beaudoin Obstacle Course on Fort Knox, Ky., July 10, 2025.

The course harbors 12 obstacles for the Cadets to attempt, from ropes and high walls to low-crawls and horizontal ladders. They are pushed to develop leadership skills and uncover the power of teamwork, all while confronting their weaknesses and defining their strengths.

Cadet Haley Hutcheson, Columbus State University, strives to become a strong leader after past experiences with poor management.

“When you don’t have good leadership, it’s hard to stay motivated or (even) want to show up and do the job,” Hutcheson said.

During a previous job, Hutcheson grew tired of the lack of management and motivation, craving more leadership and physically demanding opportunities.

“I needed a new path,” she said. “I’m a very routine orientated person. I like the structure that the military offers.”

As an older Cadet, she said she feels as though her life experiences will help her in the military compared to if she had enlisted at 20, like she once considered.

Now that she has begun to experience some military training, Hutcheson said she is planning on pushing herself to become a better person.

“I just want to do what I’m capable of and more, because I know that I’m capable of a lot.” she said. “I really push myself (to) see how far I can go.”

Hutcheson said she wants to take everything she has learned during Basic Camp back to her program and serve as motivation for others.

For Cadet Jemma Geisler, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, her motivation can be found in making her family proud.

One of Geisler’s biggest influences can be found in her older sister, who recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned into the Marine Corps.

“She’s always been a role model for me,” Geisler said. “She’s given me, and my younger siblings, something to look at and to push myself to be a better person.”

As a firefighter, Geisler said she wants to keep opening different opportunities throughout her life and avoid becoming stagnant. It is her experience as a firefighter that has influenced Geisler to consider becoming a military police officer.

“I’m kind of open to different branches, being an officer,” Geisler said. “I try and be a voice for the people, someone that they can look up to.”

While the motivation from both their families and fellow Cadets pushes them forward, it is the drive for leadership that has Hutchenson and Geisler inching their way toward the opportunities to come.