Fort Knox, Ky., – Leadership and warrior skill training was put to the test for Basic Camp 7th Regiment when they tackled Individual Task Training, a series of stations where their emergency combat and leadership skills were challenged.
Cadet Sean Burger, student at the Citadel, native of Marshfield, Massachusetts, honed his medevac skills during ITT.
7th Regiment Basic Camp Cadets tested their skills at emergency combat casualty training during Individual Task Training July 23, Fort Knox, Ky. Cadets rotated through several stations where they learn to assemble and dissemble M16 rifles, treat and move casualties, and call a nine-line medevac. (photo by Emily LaForme)
“We are trying to qualify with putting together and using a radio, calling in a nine-line medevac, and seeing if we are capable of transporting and moving a casualty, so we are using buddy carries and different techniques. We are also assembling and disassembling M16 assault rifles,” said Burger.
The Cadets rotate from each station after they get the good to go clearance.
“We are moving from station to station once we pass it and are given the good to go. You either pass or you don’t pass, the Cadre will write a checkmark down on your paper so you can go to the next one,” said Burger. “We started with the radios, we put the batteries in, got the radio on the right channel/frequency, then we called in nine-line medevac using each step of the line.”
Cadets receive this training at school, but it is expanded upon and focused on more in depth during Cadet Summer Training.
“We do learn a lot of this stuff at school, but it’s very important here at Fort Knox to learn it because they go into more depth and we do it for longer. When you do it for a longer amount of time and you do it over and over, it builds muscle memory and the repetition gets better. I think that’s what makes it good about doing it here, it’s more in focus,” said Burger
Burger and his buddy, Cadet Womack, taught the rest of the Cadets, and some of the Cadre, a new way of moving casualties.
“I saw a former Army Ranger on YouTube roll into a fireman’s carry. The casualty was laying on the ground and he was just deadweight and couldn’t move, so the Ranger rolled in grabbing his leg and his arm, and once he rolled over, he picked him on his shoulders and stood right up. I figured I would give it a shot, and it kind of stuck, and people liked it so I tried it out in front of other people and it worked out well,” said Burger.
This training teaches Cadets what to do in emergency combat situations, where they need to think fast and take charge quickly.
A 7th Regiment Basic Camp Cadet practices a nine-line medieval radio call during Individual Task Training July 23, Fort Knox, Ky. Cadets rotated through several stations where they learn to assemble and dissemble M16 rifles, treat and move casualties, and call a nine-line medevac. (photos by Emily LaForme)
“This training itself is important, because with building future officers and future leaders, they need to be prepared before they go out to their units or their field of expertise with whatever they are doing,” said Burger. You can’t just send leaders out, going from basic, without them knowing what they are doing, because they need to know to know this stuff, so their guys or women below them won’t think they don’t know anything.”
Cadet Trevor Womack, student at the Citadel, native of Pinehurst, North Carolina, trained alongside Burger during ITT.
“My favorite station is probably the M16 station, because I really like guns, and I like taking them apart and putting them together, making sure they work properly, because if you don’t have an M16, you’re basically useless on the battlefield,” said Womack. “Really pay attention to the steps, it’s not that hard at all, you just need to memorize what goes where. When you are cleaning your weapon, don’t leave out any parts, and pay attention to detail with everything you do.”
Womack stresses paying attention to the details during each training scenario they encounter, and in life.
“Not paying attention to detail could be the difference between life and death sometimes and what leads to someone losing a leg or not losing a leg. Putting on a tourniquet for example. You put on a tourniquet, and in the old Army that means you lose the limb, but now we’ve gotten a lot better with technology and equipment, and if you put one on, you may not lose the limb,” said Womack. “You have to put the time on and you have to write the time on the tourniquet, and if you don’t write the time on, then the doctor that is taking the tourniquets off won’t know how long it’s been or how long it hasn’t been on, and that can be the difference between someone not having an arm or having an arm.”
Womack strives to be a great leader, following in the footsteps of his family before him.
7th Regiment Basic Camp Cadets practice the fireman carry during Individual Task Training July 23, Fort Knox, Ky. Cadets rotated through several stations where they learn to assemble and dissemble M16 rifles, treat and move casualties, and call a nine-line medevac. (photos by Emily LaForme)
“If you don’t pay attention to details as a leader, then why do you expect your guys or girls to pay attention to detail in everything they do? I want to be the greatest infantry platoon leader to ever live, that’s my goal. I want to be the best in everything I do, and be the best infantry platoon leader I can possibly be,” said Womack. “My uncle was a Brigadier General in the Air Force, and he went to the Citadel as well. He is a great leader, great father, great husband, and he had a great effect on me and why I chose the Citadel.”
Cadet Summer Training will bring 8,200 Cadets through Basic and Advanced Camp this summer on Fort Knox. These camps are designed to help challenge, grow and improve various skills and leadership qualities within the Cadets. If you think you have what it takes to be a Cadet or if you are interested in a job after college click the following link: https://my.goarmy.com/info/rotc1/index.jsp?iom=IP08-AUTO-R1NA-BR-XXX-XX-XXX-MO-XX-X-BRCMAC:IP08
