Cadets trickled into the check-in table at the Land Navigation Course during Cadet Summer Training. Some finished the course within an hour and a half, including Cadet Alec Brinkman, a prior service Infantryman that has walked more than a mile on a few Land Navigation courses himself.  Brinkman, a Green-to-Gold Cadet, served as a Non-Commissioned Officer and contracted with Texas A&M University-Central Texas. After serving 12 years active duty, he has been stationed around the world to include Germany, Washington, Texas, and also found himself in Afghanistan nine months after graduating Basic Training in 2011.  Now in 10th Regiment, Advanced Camp, […]

Drill Sergeants and newly commissioned Second Lieutenants helped to direct 3rd Regiment, Basic Camp Cadets through the Rugger’s Rope Course during Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox, Ky., July 15, 2022. In the mix of these senior leaders were a group of Cadets that have been at CST 2022 longer than most of the Cadre this summer. This group of Cadets recently graduated from CST less than a month ago and now serve as MSIII mentors for Basic Camp.  Prior to graduating from Advanced Camp, senior Army ROTC Cadets have the opportunity to serve as MSIII mentors for Basic Camp regiments […]

“Wake up everyday to give the best leadership to those soldiers that you have the privilege of being in front of,” said Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army.  Brito gave this advice to 9th Regiment, Advanced Camp, Cadets, at Cadet Summer Training (CST), while visiting Fort Knox.   During his visit, Brito interacted with Basic Camp Cadets as they trained at the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST), and Advanced Camp Cadets as they completed the Field Leader Reaction Course (FLRC).   He also spoke on the culture at CST.   “They learn how to operate in a […]

The Field Leadership Reaction Course (FLRC) is designed to strengthen the leadership capabilities of Cadets, pushing them out of their comfort zones as they devise unconventional solutions to obstacles in their way.  With the course completed, the Cadets of 8th Regiment, Advanced Camp, stopped to reflect on the leaders in their own lives, and the people that inspired them to pursue a leadership role themselves.   “My grandfather is what I think of as a leader. Somebody that’s strong and vocal, and can be clear and concise,” said Cadet Jackson Lemmon from Eastern Kentucky University.  With his grandfather as a strong role […]

With modern warfare rapidly evolving, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) training has become increasingly important to Cadet Summer Training (CST) at Fort Knox, Ky.  “Your guys’ war is gonna be much different than my war. You need to pay attention to this training,” said Master Sgt. Matthew Hyde, the CBRN noncommissioned officer in charge, during his morning brief to 7th Regiment Advanced Camp.  The CBRN Confidence Chamber serves to create a level of trust in the equipment and the Cadets’ ability to properly use the equipment. This is done through thorough training.  “We did a lot of practice rehearsals, so […]

From fleet to field, Sergio Almeida, 4th Regiment, Advanced Camp, made the shift from enlisted Navy Sailor to Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Cadet.  “I chose to enlist the first time around for a sense of that typical, wanting to find yourself, wanting independence, wanting to be my own person,” said Almeida.  After being the first member of his family to join the military, Almeida trained for a year in San Diego before being stationed in Norfolk, Virginia on the USS Truxton in 2012.  “I got to really learn what the military was,” he said.  During his six years in […]

A telltale sign of the average Army ROTC Cadet participating in Cadet Summer Training is their youth and relative inexperience with the military; CST being their first major excursion into Army life. However, there are those among the ranks who have called the Army home for much longer. Among a sea of Cadets attending CST was one that had a history with the Army going back over a decade.  The man’s uniform was covered in patches denoting his past experience, which told stories of his time serving and deploying as an Army engineer. “Everyone refers to me as either grandpa, the […]

Having freshly arrived at Fort Knox the day before, Cadets from 1st Regiment, Basic Camp, woke up bright and early to practice drill and ceremony (D&C) in front of their barracks. The Cadets were drilled on the basics of marching by cadre responsible for preparing them for the drill sergeants that will be training them later in the week. “Some of these Cadets never did D&C,” said 2nd Lieutenant Jaunn Caldwell. “They never did drill ceremony, they don’t know how to present arms, no customs and courtesies. It was just the basics, the fundamentals.” This day is the perfect opportunity to […]

Land navigation is one of the skills taught at Cadet Summer Training (CST) at Fort Knox, Ky., but DePaul University Army ROTC Green to Gold Cadet Ryan Russett, 4th Regiment, Advanced Camp, had prior experience that made this challenging event easier. “I applied my points really quickly” he said, and then, “I just picked the shortest path which was — to the south first.”  Russett is from Chicago, where his program honed his navigation skills further as a Green to Gold Cadet. To his advantage, the ROTC program at his university comes to Fort Knox to do their Field Training Exercises […]

“It seemed like every scary movie where someone’s about to fall off a cliff,” said Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet Jasmine Valentine, from 2nd Regiment, Advanced Camp, when describing the feeling of being on the 64 ft. rappel tower at Fort Knox, Ky. Valentine is from the the University of North Georgia where she has done things similar to the rappel tower with its ROTC program, but those experiences did not take away the fear she had going into the rappel tower training event.  “I have a deathly fear of heights,” she said.  Valentine said encouraging words she received from […]