One dream, one team–– moving as a unit. Two companies of second regiment basic camp competed by platoon in a Drill and Ceremony Competition.  Drill and Ceremony is where Cadets are commanded by their platoon sergeant to step and perform in sync with precision. The drill sergeants judged based on how many of the 41 commands were performed correctly and together. Cadet Angel Teagle’s, a student at Elizabeth City State University, role in the competition was the platoon sergeant for Delta company super platoon. The team was made up of the most proficient Cadets at drill sequences from each platoon to [...]

“Initially there is always that little bit of nervousness anytime you get thrown into a leadership role,” said Cadet Jared Dieckman, a student at the University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse.

“We are in the crawl phase for the CST cadets to practice how to conduct their missions and battle drills in order for them to move on towards the real evaluations where they are evaluated,” said Manglona.

“Trust is very important especially as a leader,” said Cadet Henry Mulli, a student at Loyola University Maryland. “You have to trust your subordinates especially when disseminating information so everybody knows what’s going on.”

“We spent all day at the range and that was pretty exhausting mentally and physically and then we had to stay up and pack our rucks,” said Cadet Jamar Carlisle, a student from at Georgia State University. “That kind of played a toll, but overall I think everybody is pretty excited to get this six-miler down.”

“It burns,” said Ampofo. “It feels like cooking peppers and onions and a whole bunch of spices and stuff, like spicy siracha basically.”

“In those moments you have those negative thoughts, but in the end, I kept telling myself that I can do this," said Hoyle. "This is only the beginning of a long path, a long journey that I can continue if I’m willing to push forward and keep going and not give up.”

“This is a calm, steady environment for them to be able to shoot calmly, get their weapons zeroed and be able to confirm their zeros so that whenever they are in a war fighting situation they don’t have to worry about shooting and missing the target,” said Tucker.

“I think getting woken up by our cadre at 3 am definitely gets my adrenaline pumping and it gets me ready for the day,” said Cadet Lindsay Martz, a student at Edinboro University from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

“The Confidence Course, also known as the obstacle course, is just an opportunity for the Cadets to negotiate different obstacles to build confidence with themselves, to build camaraderie, to build team work and to overcome some fears that one would normally associate with heights,” said Sgt. 1st Class Obie Carswell. He is the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) for the Confidence Course and an instructor for MSII and MSIII classes at Vanderbilt University, assigned to 7th Brigade Cadet Command.

“You never know how a patient is going to be,” said Spc. Kaleb Wilkerson, a medic at Task Force Med, who played the injured. “A patient can be calm as a cucumber or they can be combative. Today I was trying to mess them up… I was trying to give them the worst situation they can possible have… Just make it the worst-case scenario so they can do better in the real scenario.”

“The Cadets are expected to learn how to properly grip the grenade depending on if they are left or right handed,” said Douglas. “Correctly employ the grenade in the correct form. Today we went over prone to kneeling and kneeling to standing.”

“Just like having a bag of chips, you literally have a whole meal in a bag,” said Sgt. Devonte Bush, 1st Medical Brigade, Fort Hood, TX assigned to Task Force Med supporting Cadet Summer Training.

For the first time in since March of 2014 , the Army has changed its grooming standards for both males and females. According to 1st Sgt. April Busald, many of the regulations were updated due to request from the soldiers and medical related reasons. “It was due to females wanting to have their own sense of identity,” said Busald. “And still be able to be a female and a feminine soldier in a male dominant profession, but we can still do those things professionally.” Some of the updated regulations for female soldiers now include being able to wear natural color highlights, [...]