FORT KNOX, Ky. — 7th Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets conduct a new mission during the Field Training Exercise July 26, 2018.
Charlie Company, 7th Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets conduct missions as the opposing force during the FTX July 26, 2018 at Fort Knox, Ky. (Photo by Angela Yin)
A Field Training Exercise describes a coordinated exercise conducted by military units for training purposes. It assists Cadets getting prepared for leadership programs they must complete to graduate as commissioned officers.
The exercise is usually carefully planned out by officers, in order to give Cadets a taste of battle and allows instructors to look for mistakes and correct them.
Without disclosing any plans or information beforehand, it creates a more unpredictable and realistic situation for Cadets during the training.
Cadet Jake Donahue, a student from the University of Miami, returned from last summer and spent another month this year at Fort Knox for Advanced Camp Training.
Charlie Company, 7th Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets conduct missions as the opposing force during the FTX July 26, 2018 at Fort Knox, Ky. (Photo by Angela Yin)
“Our platoon got an attack at 6 or 7 this morning, and we were trying to defense first,” Donahue said. “After that, we got a new mission to recover a downed UAC and bring it back to the rest of the platoon.”
The Field Training Exercise put Cadets in a tense environment: people need to get prepared and accept anything that the Field Training is going to put on them at any time.
It’s all about how an individual grows into a leadership role, and then how they react to adversity thrown at them.
“I think leadership is significant during the training,” Donahue said. “It’s hard to get together with people that you never met before from different universities and places.”
With the different backgrounds and various ways of talking to people, communication becomes a critical point while trying to get rid of the barriers among people.
Donahue highlighted, “Advanced Camp Training taught me about how to work with other people and to complete missions as a unit but not a singular person.”
Charlie Company, 7th Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets conduct missions as the opposing force during the FTX July 26, 2018 at Fort Knox, Ky. (Photo by Angela Yin)
The two months during the summer at Fort Knox gives every Cadet spiritual and intellectual insight into being a leader and an officer in the Army.
Every one of them grows up as a better individual and future army officer.
