Fort Knox, Ky. – It was a sunny morning on the George Blair Range for the 5th regiment Cadets at weapons qualification today. The Cadets shot at pop-targets with the goal of shooting 23 out of the 40 targets, at a minimum. For some Cadets, this was a first exposure to pop-up targets. For Cadet Justin Larson from St. Simons Island, Georgia, who attends the University of Georgia, shooting at pop-up targets was a completely new experience. “This is my first time shooting on a pop-up range,” Larson said. “Honestly, I was nervous because I had never qualified on a pop-up […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCnp9qzdzo0[/embedyt] “Battle Buddy, cover me while I move,” a Cadet yelled during the Buddy Team Live Fire. “Communication is key in anything you do in the Army and in general,” said Cadet Alex Counter, from Boise State University, “This is a true test of how you communicate on the battlefield and stress environments.” Cadets from the 4th Regt. Advanced Camp learned how to communicate with a teammate while under stressful situations at the Buddy Team Live Fire range, June 22. Cadets moved in pairs while firing blank rounds down the 100-meter lane.  One provided covering fire while the other advanced.  […]

Fort Knox, Ky. — The sunlight was waning and so was the energy of the Cadets as they completed the 12-mile ruck march. The march began at 7 p.m. and took around 4 hours to complete. The march was conducted in a tactical manner meaning the entire regiment moved in formation for the duration of the march. At the 11th mile checkpoint, Cadets regrouped, fixed their formations and rucked the last mile together. “The ruck is good,” Cadet Serene Farj, from Somerville, New Jersey, a student at the University of Virginia, said. “The morale is high. It is our ruck to […]

Seven-hundred Cadets. Each from their own school. Their own hometown. Their own story.  These seven-hundred Cadets make up 7th Regiment Advanced Camp, who began Cadet Summer Training (CST) yesterday at Fort Knox. “It’s an amazing opportunity. After I joined, I think I became a better man.  Discipline, order, cleanliness, patience and just being comfortable with being uncomfortable are all traits I acquired,” said Gilyard, who completed Basic Camp at Fort Knox last year. Something Gilyard struggled with at Basic Camp was completing land navigation and climbing the rope on the confidence course.  Like most Cadets, the fear of not passing an […]

FORT KNOX, Ky. – Advanced Camp, 5th Regiment Cadets enhanced their M-4 Rifle skills at Group and Zero on Canby Hill Range today. Group and Zero is just one day in the four-day process of basic rifle marksmanship training.  It falls after primary marksmanship instruction and is the first of three days with live ammunition. Cadets make adjustments to the weapon based on the location of hits on a paper target 25-meters away. “Grouping is allowing a tight niche of bullets that go through the same directional path and not having too much deviation from your original target,” said Cadet Wynnjones Mbwambo, […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpCvT6K_U-k[/embedyt] Cadets from the 2nd Regt. Advanced Camp were in their second day of Field Training Exercise (FTX) here at Fort Knox where they learned how to properly ambush an enemy. “This is entry-level tactic, in the Army you are expected to be able to be deployed in combat at a moment’s notice,” said Cadet Grant Leonard, from the University of Maryland. “Learning something like this is vitally important because it is the foundation of what the Army is built upon.” Cadets travel through the woods to an Objective Rally Point (ORP) so they can reassess how they will successfully […]

Fort Knox, Ky. – Normally the weapons qualification range is filled with the thundering boom of live ammunition. Today the booming noise was actual thunder. The first round of Cadets were beginning to shoot as the storm rolled in putting a temporary halt to the range activity. “It was pretty bad weather before, we did not know if it was going to be canceled or not,” Cadet Mitchell Sanford, from Lagrangeville, New York, and a student at State University of New York Cortland said. A few hours later the storm passed and weapons qualification carried on as normal, in bright daylight. […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jjK6DVjnfE[/embedyt] FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets from 5th Regiment, Advanced Camp woke up bright and early this morning to tackle the six-mile ruck march. The six-mile ruck march is a must pass event. Cadets still in the running for Reconnaissance and Commando badge, RECONDO, had to finish the six-miles within an hour and half. For the others their time must be under two hours. “I finished in an hour and ten minutes but I’m not in the running for RECONDO anymore, land navigation got me,” said Cadet William Norman who attends University of North Georgia. Cadet Grady Gosselin who attends Gonzaga […]

FORT KNOX, Ky. – It was a nice windy day for the 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp Cadets as they conducted their Situational Training Exercise by rehearsing Platoon Operations today. Platoon Operations are the different combat patrols that Cadetsundertake during their upcoming Field Training Exercise.  They will spend the next 12 days living and operating in the Ft. Knox training area, the culminating event of Cadet Summer Training. The training is not new as the Cadets practice these patrols and maneuvers on their campus during their labs and FTXs. “We get a lot of the Situation Operations Procedures [SOPs] out of the Ranger […]

FORT KNOX, Ky. — Six miles, two aching feet, 35 plus pounds, and Cadets of 5th Regiment only needed one thing to push them forward, each other. The six-mile road march is the first of three different marches the Cadets will be tasked with over the course of Cadet Summer training. The time limit to complete the event was two hours. For those aiming for Recondo the time to beat was 1 hour and 30 minutes. Lt. Col. Jack Toohey from Ohio State University was one of the Cadre who rucked with the Cadets, but he had an added task. He […]

Fort Knox, Ky. – Not many Advanced Camp training exercises are held in a traditional classroom setting. Call for Fire training is. Cadets from 5th Regiment spent Tuesday morning going through the Call for Fire training. This includes an instruction course in which Cadets are taught the proper procedures to call for effective fire, some practice simulations and then a must-pass exam. The training is often the first exposure Cadets have to the Call for Fire process. “I came into it kind of green and didn’t know exactly what we were doing but now but now that we have run it […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKpqAJ7qPEA[/embedyt] FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets from the Alpha Co., 4th Regiment were hand-grenade trained today, June 18, each of them booming with excitement. An Add On Handling and throwing live grenades is an entirely new addition to Advanced Camp. “It’s part of a series of events that are being brought in an attempt to replicate aspects from Basic Training,” Capt. Daniel Snow, assistant professor of military science for Kansas State University, said. The Commanding Gen. of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) has decided that all soldiers, enlisted and commissioned alike, should train in the same tasks, […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo3WhA9dREc[/embedyt] FORT KNOX, KY. – “This training is important because, you need to be prepared with whatever the Army throws at you. You need to adapt and overcome,” said Cadet Savannah Mercado, from the University of Southern California. Today, Cadets from the 3rd Regiment Advanced Camp learned how to do this when they endured the Chemical, Biological Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) chamber. The chemical used at CBRN is tear gas; when unprotected, it specifically irritates the skin, respiratory system and eyes. There were several different stations Cadets visited to learn how to properly don their mask and suit. “The instructors here […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLZIqxixX9Q[/embedyt] FORT KNOX, Ky. — Three words dictate Army training: crawl, walk and run, three words that became very important to the Cadets of 3rd Regiment today at first aid training. Staff Sgt. Christopher Jackson, of the 3-414th Training Battalion, noted on one of the injuries the Cadets may be faced with in the field is a hemorrhaging femoral artery, a major vessel that carries blood through the thigh. Should this happen the casualty has approximately 60 seconds to live. Cadets are given several demonstrations and chances to see how to deal with this kind of injury so that in […]

Fort Knox, Ky. – Anticipation is high as a new group of Cadets arrive to Fort Knox. Advanced Camp has officially begun for the 6th Regiment Cadets who arrived yesterday. With the addition of the Buddy Team Live Fire and hand grenade training to Advanced Camp this year, the Cadets have started day one of the 37-day journey. “I am a little nervous, but ready to get going,” Cadet Tyler Hone, from Galloway, New Jersey, and a student at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, said. “I don’t really know what to expect as of now.” Cadet Cody Kendrix from Common, Georgia, attending the […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTLwTI4FNMs[/embedyt] FORT KNOX, KY. – “Do not think about it, just go,” said Cadet Bennett Weyhrauch, from Pacific Lutheran University. Today, 3rd Regt. Advanced Camp Cadets had to do just that when they faced the 64-foot Rappel Tower here at Fort Knox. It might have been wet and raining before hand, but that did not stop Cadets from overcoming this monstrous obstacle. Before making their way up the tower, Cadets learned how to properly tie a swiss seat so they could go down the wall safely. Once cadets get up to the top, they must tell the rappel master which […]

FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets from Advanced Camp, 3rd Regiment, worked as a team to complete the confidence course obstacles, June 17, to build certainty in themselves. The course consisted of nine obstacles the Cadets must overcome. The Tough One, the Incline Wall, Low Belly Over, the Confidence Ladder, Six Vault, Swing-Stop-and-Jump, Low Wire, High Stop Over and the Weaver. Between the Tough One and the Weaver, Cadets have the hardest time overcoming these obstacles. During today’s session, the Tough One was out of service due to weather. The Weaver still held up its reputation and challenged the Cadets physically. A University […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAwCJqdPRBc[/embedyt] FORT KNOX, Ky. — While the rain may have added more challenge for 4th Regiment Cadets at this morning’s Weapons Qualification, they embraced it with open arms. 2nd Lt. Samuel Tease was one of the Fort Knox Cadre overseeing the event and he noted that while Weapon’s Qualification isn’t new, having the training at the pop-up is. “We did it last year, but it was a non-qualifying event,” Tease said. “I think they realized the pop-ups gave more dynamic training than stationary targets. So, by having a way for Cadets train at varying distances with a more realistic situation. […]

The Cadets from 5th Regiment completed their Land Navigation assessment June 17, 2019. The Cadets did a trial run before their test because of the rain and lightning the night before. Capt. Caitlin Moore, who oversees 5th Regiment, Bravo Company, explained the objective of Land Navigation. She said, “Out here at Land Nav, we are having the Cadets take a set number of coordinates and plot them on their map. Then navigate physically on the course to that point to collect that point, and then they bring it back and we grade them.” Moore also provided context for the scouting phase […]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFaMumaMrIE[/embedyt] Fort Knox, Ky. – There is a saying in the Army that practice makes permanent, but practice also makes a leader. During the Situational Training Exercise (STX) 2nd Regiment Cadets learned and practiced attack and defense procedures to prepare them for evaluation. The goal of the lane is for Cadets to learn and become proficient in the skills and procedures of attacking and defending key terrain. Capt. Ian McBride, the Officer in Charge for the Wolverine Attack Lane, said that more important than learning basic fighting skills is the leadership qualities this training event allows Cadets to show and […]

FORT KNOX, Ky – With all due respect to country-superstar Garth Brooks, the thunder rolled and the lightning struck while the 5th Regiment, Advanced Camp put their bodies to the test during the Army Physical Fitness Test today. The weather did not put a damper on the Cadets spirits. “Being super hype and getting everyone else hype as well, I was able to exceed that mental barrier and just push as hard as I could beyond the physical capability that I had,” said Michael Vieda, a Cadet from Florida Atlantic University. Before the APFT, Vieda was a bit nervous with how […]

FORT KNOX, Ky. — The humidity was beating down on the Cadets from 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp on the last day they did buddy team live-fire during Cadet Summer Training. Today, Cadets navigated through the buddy team live-fire lane working on their communication skills and “using individual movement techniques or IMTs to maneuver down to our objective,” said Cadet Carolyn Williams, Missouri Western State University. The 100-meter lane requires the Cadets to move forward seeking cover from wooden barriers and logs. While one moves the other provides covering fire.  Last week’s rain created mud pits, often where a Cadet finished his three-five second […]

Rain. Lightening.  A broken LOMAH system. None of these events stopped Cadets from the 4th Regiment, Advanced Camp from fine tuning their marksmanship skills this morning.  Cadets were scheduled to practice these skills before their weapons qualification tomorrow. The Rain.  Cadets arrived at George Blair Range as a thunderstorm hovered over them.  Although the rain was uncomfortable, causing some puddles and heavy ponchos, training was scheduled to begin on time; that is until a lightning bolt struck a tree near the Cadets. The Lightening. “We were lined up for chow and then there was a big lightning strike and we took […]

Cadets from Advanced Camp, 4th Regiment, Delta Company took part in the Field Leadership Reaction Course (FLRC) to build camaraderie and leadership skills within their platoons. Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Hankins, who is a member of Cadet Command, explained the course. He said, “Field Leadership Reaction Course is (several) obstacles designed to challenge squad sized cadets. They will take turns in leadership positions. The intention is to challenge and make them work together for teamwork, communication, adaptability, and decision-making.” Hankins shared his advice for the Cadets, “A good plan executed violently right after planning phase is better than a perfect plan […]

FORT KNOX, Ky. – Cadets from 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp partnered up today for a dry run of the buddy team live-fire range during Cadet Summer Training. Cadets navigated the course today using blank ammunition, working on their communication and movement techniques.  Tomorrow they’ll negotiate the same 100-meter lanes firing live rounds.  Throughout their run down the lane the Cadets engage targets while moving to cover provided by wooden walls and logs. Cadet Brian Driscoll from Wilks University explained how they run through the lanes in buddy pairs; they run individually while your partner covers you. They low crawled and high crawled […]