FORT KNOX, Ky. – The 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets took the land navigation practical exam during Cadet Summer Training in Fort Knox, Ky., June 21, 2023. In order for Cadets to pass the exam, they must locate at least three of the four grid coordinates within a four-hour time period.

Cadet Lindsay Smutka from St. John’s University explained what tools Cadets were given and how they could use them for the exam.

“We’re given a map, a compass, and a protractor, which we can use to actually plot the points on the map using the grids, and you can use that to figure out the distance to points,” Smutka said.

Smutka found all four grid points in under two hours and felt confident going into the exam because of prior field training exercises she experienced at her college’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. Smutka is a nursing student who said she was drawn to the military because of the great opportunities they have for nurses.

Cadet Sam Dillard of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University is another Cadet that found all four grid coordinates in less than a couple of hours and had his prior experience with field training exercises through his college’s ROTC program to thank for that. Both of Dillard’s parents being in the Army gave him the motivation to join the military in the first place. He said that the Army has a disciplined lifestyle, but he appreciates the structure it has given him.

“I’ve had a family that’s been created through ROTC and through the Army, and it’s been fantastic,” Dillard said. “I’ve grown in relationship with a lot of people, and I’ve become a better person myself through that structure and discipline lifestyle.”

Cadet Dakota Stewart from the University of Wisconsin-Madison just finished his fourth year at his school’s ROTC program and said that he was the first member of his family to join the military. He decided that the military would be a good route for him since he went to a military boarding school in high school and had a lot of friends that were also in the military.

“Overall, I’d say that [the Army] helped with my attitude towards life,” Stewart said. “It helps me be appreciative of all the things I have in my normal life.”

Stewart advises future Cadets that go through land navigation training to trust themselves, their pace counts and equipment.

“Other Cadets have been through it, and you’re not the only one that’s been doing it, so I think that if anyone can do it, then you can do it,” Stewart said.