FORT KNOX, KY. – Nerves and excitement coursed through Cadets assigned to 8th Regiment Advanced Camp. They were about to step off on a 12-mile ruck march, the only thing standing between them and graduation. 

The Cadets were itching to get started and get it over with. They knew it wouldn’t be easy, but with the bonds they’d built over the last month, they would push each other through. 

“You can text and call your family but, at the end of the day,” Cadet Jaimeson Canny, State University of New York at Potsdam, said, “the people you have here, the people you have in your squad, those are your people.”

For Canny, having the support of his fellow Cadets was the reason he made it through CST. At the beginning of camp, he didn’t feel like he’d be able to do it. It was such a daunting idea and graduation seemed so far off, but by leaning on those around him, he made it through.

Cadet Noah Gregory, Lander University, also relied on the support of his battle buddies to get through CST. They know that he can always improve himself and want to help him. They know what he is capable of more than he does sometimes. 

“We’re there for each other,” Gregory said, “and we’re here to help each other through it.”

In addition to support from their fellow Cadets at camp, Cadets Jeremy Smith, University of Alabama, and Ciara Murphy, State University of New York at Brockport, also find support from their fellow Cadets at their schools’ programs. 

A big reason Smith joined ROTC was because he was encouraged to by a friend. They wanted to better themselves and push each other. 

Two years ago, Cadets in Murphy’s program helped her get through the hardest time in her life. Her father passed away from very aggressive bladder cancer. It was 57 days from when he was diagnosed to when he passed. 

As soon as her fellow Cadets learned her dad passed, they immediately began calling her, texting her and checking in. A few Cadets even flew to Murphy’s hometown to attend her father’s services. 

“I don’t know what I would’ve done without them,” she said. 

When she got back to school, everyone made sure to help her get caught up on everything she missed. They were always offering to listen and support her in any way she needed. 

“Having that support and knowing they were there,” she said, “it was honestly the biggest thing.”

At CST, even though they’ve only been together for a month, Murphy has built bonds with her fellow Cadets, like the ones she has at home. On ruck marches, Murphy thinks about how everyone around her is doing the same thing as her. She knows she can rely on them to keep her going. 

“I know these people,” she said. “They will not let me fall out.”

As the time to step off got closer and closer, Canny, Gregory, Smith and Murphy all felt confident. With the support of everyone around, they knew they would be able to cross the finish line in 12 miles.