FORT KNOX, Ky.- 1st Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets marched four miles to Schroder Range to complete their battle march and shoot training, Fort Knox, Ky., June 11, 2023.
“We did a tactical road march in full kit, so we had our 45-pound rucks on, our eight-pound rifles and our 10-pound ACHs, which are Army combat helmets,” said Cadet Luke Bausler from the University of San Francisco. “It’s supposed to be a stress and shoot, so the four mile is supposed to stress you out, and then, by the time we get to the range, you should be pretty tired and then, shoot at your targets.”
Bausler said the point of the training was to simulate battle conditions and test how well the Cadets do on the gun range after being tired and stressed from the road march.
“So the point of marching was to try to get people tired or flustered, sweaty and stressed out so by the time they got here, they’d really have to calm themselves down and focus on their breathing and to be as accurate as we were yesterday,” Bausler said.
Cadet Richard Bindin from the University of Arizona, said both the training today and Cadet Summer Training as a whole has gone well.
“The whole point of CST is to develop leaders, and I think we’re doing just that,” Bindin said. “[With] the type of training that we’re doing, we’re given the perspective of what a true leader should be at CST and in the real world.”
Bindin said he has learned a lot about different styles of leadership and the benefits of different ways of leading.
Bindin said he wanted to commission as an officer in the Army because he wanted to lead and serve.
“As a first generation immigrant, my parents came to this country, and I feel like this country has given so much to myself and my family, and I’m giving back to that,” Bindin said. “Just also an overall arching drive to lead and pursue and serve and any any facet as possible and to give back.”
Bausler said he wanted the opportunity to go to college, and the Army helped him do that.
“There’s always a hint of a sense of service and a sense of wanting to be part of a team, but I think the key underlying factor with most of us is nowadays you need to have a college degree to have a successful career and to get your foot on the right path,” Bausler said. “That’s at least what we’re told, and a lot of us don’t have another means to get an education, and the Army offers a window of opportunity for us, and we pursue it.”
Bausler encouraged future Cadets not to worry about CST.
Similarly, Bindin offered advice to Cadets, who are preparing for CST.
“Stay open minded,” Bindin said. “We all come from different backgrounds. Come to this with an open mind, open heart, have empathy for one another [and] take care of one another. That’s really all that matters. Military is a people business. If you take care of the people, you’re gonna have one: good peer [evaluations] and two: you take care of people, people are gonna take care of you. And it’s just all one big circle.”
