With the final days of Cadet Summer Training (CST) approaching, the Cadets of 9th Regiment, Advanced Camp, applied the skills they developed during their initial Field Training Exercises (FTX) to brand new tactical scenarios at FTX II: Grizzly.  “It’s similar in a lot of ways to the first FTX, but they’ve just kind of turned up the heat a little bit,” Cadet Carson Collard, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said. “The movements are longer, the missions are on a tighter timeframe, there’s less help from Cadre, and so it overall puts more strain on the leaders and is, in my opinion, […]

Special Awards Recipients Military Order of the Purple Heart Badge of MeritCadet Jozylynn Auditor, University of California- Irvine Military Order of the World Wars AwardCadet Zachary Barthel, University of New Hampshire Military Officer’s Association of America AwardCadet Reinaldo Marincruz, University of Puerto Rico- Piedras AUSA Warrior Ethos AwardCadet Sean Adams, University of Georgia First Command Financial Services AwardCadet Andre Brisk, Santa Clara University Armed Forces Bank Performance AwardCadet Alexa Barnes, University of Oklahoma Reserve Organization of America AwardCadet Richard Roberts, Auburn University Society of American Military Engineers AwardCadet Donald Aniekwe, Pennsylvania State University- University Park Bold Leader Spirit AwardCadet Julian Watts, […]

Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) at Cadet Summer Training is not a timed event but remains a test for Cadets if they can quickly respond to care under fire.  Cadets are assessed on knowing the different steps of evaluating a casualty and how to utilize the different items in an individual first aid kit (IFAK) during the TCCC lane.  Ssg. Mark Bartruff, a lane NCOIC for TCCC helped to ensure Cadets know how important medical care is to learn as a future army leader. “Not everybody has a medical background,” said Bartruff. “But we give them just some of the basics […]

“Look down, but hold your head up, wipe your eyes, keep going,” Cadet Shariana Freeman, from The Fort Valley State University, said.  This advice was given to the Cadets of 3rd Regiment, Basic Camp, as they strapped on their rucksacks and set off on a 10-kilometer foot march in the pouring rain.  Although this march served as the last training exercise standing between 3rd Regiment Cadets and graduation, the weather conditions ensured that it would be no simple task.  “Honestly, me personally, I thought I couldn’t do it,” Freeman said. “You can’t see, there’s stuff in your eyes, you’re just unmotivated.”  […]

Cadet Sage Brooks, North Carolina State University, marched his platoon to the Rappel Tower to take on their next challenge at Cadet Summer Training. As they arrived, a lieutenant mentioned to them that a brigadier general was waiting for them in front of the tower and wanted to give a few words of advice. “The lieutenant mentioned there was a one-star up there, and to be respectful and make sure to salute her,” said Brooks. “I was thinking in my head – alright, all the customs and courtesies. And then I saw my step dad’s truck and was like ‘oh, my […]

“I told them if they hit the target, I’d be going in there just like they were,” said 2nd Lt. Jeanluc Pos.  After realizing their Platoon Training Officer was in on the muddy action if they hit their target, Cadets of 11th Regiment, Advanced Camp locked down their aim in an attempt to hit the 35 meter target during grenade training. Cadet Virginia Larsen, University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, cheered as her peers attempted to hit the target so their Cadre would join in on throwing practice grenades.  As a Psychology major that is interested in branching Medical Services, the […]

There was excitement in the air as Cadets of 8th Regiment, Advanced Camp, fired off their final rounds and completed one last tactical mission during their concluding iteration of Field Training Exercises (FTX).   The morale was incredibly high as these Cadets looked back on their time in the field and recognized the very important, yet very different perspectives they had on the experience.   “If we’re not training, we’re out there in the actual, real fight,” Cadet John Halo, from Fayetteville State University, said. “It’s good to have that increased stress, it adds value to the training, so it makes the leaders […]

Nervous, excited, and thrilled were all words used by Cadets of 3rd Regiment, Basic Camp, to describe their emotions before crawling directly under and toward live M240 machine gun fire.  The Cadets embraced this challenge at the Night Infiltration Course (NIC), a training event at Cadet Summer Training (CST) designed to test physical and mental toughness through the simulation of a combat scenario.  “If you’re in a combat situation and you’re given a mission, you have to complete that mission, otherwise there will be rippling effects through neighboring units,” 2nd Lt. Christian Henderson, commissioned officer from Ball State University, said. “We’ll […]

M4 carbine sights may have been fogged up as 11th Regiment, Advanced Camp, went out to the Handiboe Range to group and zero their M4 Carbines, but the conditions taught Cadets that not everyday will be sunny and clear skies.  “It was a combination of fogginess and raindrops all over,” said Cadet Taylor Rice, Virginia Commonwealth University. “It started pouring so much that it got into both my prescriptions and into my eye pro.”  Rice along with her peers had to wipe off their eye protection or glasses in between firing iterations due to the intense downpour. While trying to clear […]