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Home Features ROTC Field Training: Making an Officer, Day 1
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ROTC Field Training: Making an Officer, Day 1

By
Jandi Jensen
-
March 23, 2012
0

Advanced party

Advanced party of cadets in the vehicle
Cadets Lindstrom, Menzie, Turner, Doyle, Arthur, Williams and Hruza on the way to Camp Williams. (Jandi Jensen)

0700-0800: Advanced party of cadets and cadre leave for Camp Williams to set up land navigation courses, water refill stations, and pick up weapons. Mike Humphries, retired Marine and ROTC supply technician, spends the drive teasing and joking with soon to be commissioned cadets.


A cadet gets to work

Cadet Williams
0830: Cadet Williams organizes the simulator weapons. (Jandi Jensen)

Headquarters

Cadet Menzie at Headquarters
0850: Cadet Menzie sets up Operations Headquarters. HQ is updated with scheduling, briefing information, and maps of the grounds. (Jandi Jensen)

The terrain model

Cadets Lindstrom and Hruza building the terrain model
0900: Cadets Lindstrom and Hruza build the terrain model;  Terrain models are used for briefing and orienting before land navigation begins. (Jandi Jensen)

Terrain model setup

Cadets building a terrain model
0952:  Cadets Lindstrom, Arthur, Hruza, Turner and Williams spray paint land markings and water points. (Jandi Jensen)

Cadets complete the terrain model

A look at a completed terrain model
1030: The terrain model is finished. The cadets now begin prepping for a land navigation brief. (Jandi Jensen)

Land navigation

Land navigation brief
Cadets listen to Cadet Turner's land nav brief. (Jandi Jensen)

1100-1525: Cadets learn Land Navigation early on in training. They are taught to plot points, plan their routes, and have tact points for where points should be when they arrive. Briefings consist of boundaries, orienting land marks, and water point identification.

Day time land navigation is approximately four hours long. Cadets must find at least 5/8 points to pass evaluation. Each point is marked with dog tags imprinted with the point coordinate and a code to prove cadets were successful according to their designated Line Strip. MS I and IIs are expected to navigate on their own, but are given leniency if they need help.

MS IIIs on the other hand are given strict instructions to not work together. During the Leadership Development Assessment Course (LDAC), a six week officer training camp, cadets are not allowed to receive any help during the nav evaluation.

Most MS IVs stay at camp during this evaluation and prepare for tomorrow’s operations. They also grade cadets on their land nav and reteach cadets who failed.

One cadet helping another during land nav
Cadet Call (MS IV) aids Cadet Weeks (MS I) in checking and reevaluating her points. (Jandi Jensen)

My own land nav map

Land navigation map of Camp Williams
1300: Cadet Call was nice enough to guide me throughout the land nav lines. I officially, basically, know how to plot points and navigate my way through the hills of Camp Williams. Now I just have to wait until Night Time Land Navigation to test my newly aquired skills! (Jandi Jensen)

Signal drills

Captain Chris Carlile runs a signal drill
1615: While running hand and body signal drills, Captain Chris Carlile reminds the cadet squads, “This is not an M-III thing, it’s a nobody die thing!” (Jandi Jensen)

Video:


Cadets march

1900: Cadets march in between classes.


Training for a civilian encounter

1906: Cadet Allen demonstrating the correct way to handle civilians.


“A man needs his knife”

A man and his knife
Cadet Chapman carefully holds his "poop knife" (Jandi Jensen)

Once upon a time Cadet Chapman had a shiny new knife. Well, that shiny new knife? Yeah, it fell into the porta-potty. Cadet Chapman then proceeded to retrieve said knife, because “a man needs his knife.” As a result, this cadet now owns a “poop knife.” Definitely one of the best, most ridiculous stories of the weekend. Ohhhh those cadets…


Two types of exercise

Cadets do pushups and stand in formation between classes.

Cadets stand in formation
ROTC cadets stand in formation in between classes. (Jandi Jensen)
Cadets doing push-ups
Cadets do push-ups in between classes. (Jandi Jensen)
Cadets doing push-ups
Cadets get some push-ups in during a break in between classes. (Jandi Jensen)

Weapons clearing

1930: The weapons clearing barrel is placed next to all guard towers and most buildings where military personnel carry a weapon. To clear the weapon, cadets place the weapon point down into the barrel while they remove any and all ammo. They remove the magazine, and check to make sure the chamber is empty before the trigger is pulled to ensure that no bullets remain.

Fun fact: weapons clearing is a nine step process.

These two cadets were happy to demonstrate and then teach me the proper technique.

Cadet Bender clears a weapon
Cadet Smith (left) looks on while Cadet Bender clears a weapon. (Jandi Jensen)
Cadet Smith clears a weapon
Cadet Smith points the weapon into the barrel to clear it. (Jandi Jensen)
Cadet Smith clears a weapon
Cadet Smith uses a weapon clearing barrel to safely empty the weapon. (Jandi Jensen)
  • TAGS
  • Army
  • cadets
  • military
  • ROTC
  • ROTC Field Training
  • student blog
  • training
  • Utah
Jandi Jensen

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