Cadets Caleb Rowland, Middle Tennessee State University, left, and Zachary Caldwell, Oklahoma State University, 5th Regiment, Advanced Camp, work together to plot the location of an enemy target during a simulated Call for Fire, Fort Knox, Ky., June 16, 2021. Cadets learned how to properly relay information as the forward observer to successfully identify an enemy target for an attack. Rowland and Caldwell destroyed their target on the first try. | Photo by Kyle Crawford, CST Public Affairs Office

There is a lot that goes into being a warrior, and it isn’t always what you’d expect. This is what the Cadets of 5th Regiment Advanced Camp made apparent in their ‘Warrior Skills’ training.

The two halves of Warrior Skills training are Call for Fire and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3). Although not all Cadets are going into infantry service, these infantry skills are vital to becoming an officer.

Call for Fire involves using radio communication to artillery positions. Cadets worked in pairs with their battle buddies to demonstrate their abilities.

“What we’re doing here is getting the basics down, so that if we ever find ourselves in a situation that there is an enemy that we can destroy without actively engaging and putting our troops in harm’s way,” said Cadet Emily Adkins from University of Milwaukee, “this is how we’re going to use Call for Fire to effectively destroy them.”

But warrior skills are more than just operating big guns.

In this exercise, Cadets use the land navigation, map skills, and radio etiquette learned in previous training. The better they hone these skills, the more effective they can be at stopping an enemy force.

“The longer it takes you to get the information out, the longer the enemy has to react,” said Adkins.

While some Cadets were learning Call for Fire, others were undergoing Tactical Combat Casualty Care training.

Cadet Valeria Crockton, Georgia Southern University, 5th Regiment, Advanced Camp, secures an Israeli Emergency Bandage to an arm wound on Rescue Randy (mannequin patient) during the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) test, Fort Knox, Ky., June 16, 2021. Crockton served in the U.S. Army with the 3rd Infantry Division prior to starting college and joining Army ROTC with the goal of becoming an officer. | Photo by Kyle Crawford, CST Public Affairs Office

This simulation event involves learning to give first aid to a wounded soldier in a combat zone when proper hospital care is out of immediate reach. 

“They’re teaching us how to apply tourniquets and bandages the correct way,” said Cadet Ryan Wehner. “I hope I wouldn’t have to use any casualty care, but it is always a very big possibility.”

“I’m pretty confident to say that if this did actually happen … I could definitely perform this in real life,” said Cadet Kalley Magel of the University of Nevada, Reno.

According to Cadre, all Cadets passed TC3 on their first attempt.

As this new generation of warriors watched each other display their newfound competence, they also gained a greater confidence in their fellow Cadets.