FORT KNOX, KY. – Eyes filled with fear and legs shaking, Cadet Maxwell Ubriaco inched his heels off the edge of the 64-foot rappel tower. It was the fifth time he had faced the tower. 

“Getting to the top and stepping on the edge,” he said, “it feels like you’re on another planet.”

Ubriaco attends Xavier University in Cincinnati, about 143 miles from Fort Knox. Since they are close by, his program could travel to the base for field training exercises. He repelled down the very same tower on those FTXs as he did today, but Ubriaco was still nervous. Though, it did not compare to the first time he went down the tower a few years ago.

“I was so nervous that I could feel not only myself shaking, but the tower as well,” he said. “It probably took me a good 10 minutes to get in that good, deep seated ‘L.'”

Ubriaco had slipped going down the 10-foot practice wall; his wrist hurt, but he brushed it off, continuing on. He later learned that he had broken his wrist. That experience solidified Ubriaco’s confidence when it came to the rappel tower.

“Even with a broken wrist I still made it down,” he said. “I think that goes to show the level of trust you can have in not only the equipment, but also, the people around you.”

Cadet Logan Hall, University of Nevada Las Vegas, put his trust in the cadre running the tower. One of his platoon cadre members was at the top of the tower helping. He made Hall feel secure, talking him through all the steps and relating to him on a personal level.

“He just oozes confidence and calmness,” Hall said.

The cadre also played a large role in Ubriaco making it down the tower. He quelled his anxieties by rationalizing that the cadre were trained for this. 

“The Cadre have planned for every possible scenario,” Ubriaco said. “Nobody’s getting hurt.”

 Hall conquered the tower not only by having confidence in the cadre members, but also in his equipment.

“I just kind of had to take a leap and trust that everything works,” he said, “And that’s what I did.”

Past experiences, trusting the cadre and having confidence in your equipment are all essential to make it down the tower, but it all comes down to one of the Army values: personal courage. 

“I have courage and I will do what needs to be done,” Ubriaco said, “even if I don’t want to do it myself.”

“It may not have looked like it as I was spinning all the way down,” Hall said, “but I did push through with my personal courage.”

Cadets can trust the people around them and their equipment, but they need the courage to make that first jump off the tower. Heels over the edge of the tower, Ubriaco and Hall found their personal courage and took a leap.