FORT KNOX, Ky.- For Cadet Summer Training, you are with your regiment for 31 days. 31 days to get to know your battle buddies and form a friendship.

For cadet Dan Burk from Southern Mississippi State University assigned to 9th Regiment, Advanced Camp, brotherhood is the reason he is standing here at CST.

One of the main reasons Burk joined Reserve Officers’ Training Corps was because of the brotherhood he has made along the way. From being in the Simultaneous Membership Program, to basic camp, to advanced camp, Burk has formed bonds with his battle buddies that will last forever.

Burk recalls on his 6-mile ruck he has a battle buddy of his struggling a bit on the hills. To help him out, he went behind him and lifted and pushed his ruck a little bit, to help him out.

“When it comes to my battle buddies, if I see them struggling, I’m willing to put a little extra weight on me if it helps them cross the finish line with me,” said Burk.

Burk loves helping out his battles because he believes that you should do what you want done to you. He says that if you are like a brother to him, that he would do everything in his power to help you succeed because he knows that if the roles were reversed, his buddy would do the same for him.

“I truly believe doing hardships in general, especially hardships in ROTC, are not possible without your companies,” said Burk.

One of his biggest pieces of advice for people heading to camp is to have patience and open mindedness.

“Wether it’s basics, CST, army life in general, or life in general, you’re going to meet a lot of people from different backgrounds,” said Burk. “So you don’t have to understand it, and we don’t have to like each other, but we have to work together.”

Through his journey, Burk knows that he has people he can go to, from his brothers at basic camp, to the brothers he has made in the 11 days he has been at advanced camp.

“Whatever challenges are faced, I know I have a group of guys that I can lean on and they for sure can lean on me,” said Burk.