I am an Army Cadet. Soon I will take an oath and become an Army Officer committed to defending the values which make this nation great. Honor is my touchstone, I understand MISSION first and PEOPLE always. I am the PAST: The spirit of those WARRIORS who have made the final sacrifice. I am the PRESENT: The scholar and apprentice soldier enhancing my skills in the science of warfare and the art of leadership. But above all, I am the FUTURE — The future Warrior LEADER of the United States Army. May God give me the compassion and judgement to lead, and the gallantry in battle to WIN. I will do my DUTY!

The helicopter, filled with battle-ready soldiers, touched down on the open field. In a matter of seconds, they readied their gear, unbuckled and ducked out of the UH-60 black hawk helicopter. With the grass waving underneath the massive aircraft, soldiers hit the ground ready to fire their unloaded M16s. Dust swirled into the soldiers’ eyes amid the deafening noise of the beating propellers as the helicopter left.

Springing up from their successfully completed simulated air-assault mission, the soldiers looked forward to a series of field-training exercises that unfolded throughout the weekend.

As a part of the UW-Madison and UW-Whitewater fall field-training exercises, 33 ROTC cadets, along with a Herald reporter and photographer, spent the weekend at Fort McCoy. The fort, located outside of Tomah in central Wisconsin, hosted training for basic rifle marksmanship, land navigation, rappelling and, most importantly, team-building and leadership training.

ROTC stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps, where cadets are trained to become officers in the nation’s army. The corps exemplifies the values of the army and trains leaders, not war-crazed, bloodthirsty thugs.

America’s military stereotype, illustrated by such movies as “Full-Metal Jacket,” “Platoon” and “Apocalypse Now,” are outdated. The ROTC builds itself around a set of seven core values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Last weekend, ROTC cadets demonstrated all seven, with vigor.

Fall field-training exercises take place at Fort McCoy and over two days are meant to acquaint cadets with the military garrison environment.

FRIDAY 1500 hours — Roll Call
The cadets lined up outside Camp Randall and answered, “Yes sir,” as their acting-platoon leader took roll. Throughout the weekend, in an effort to make leaders out of the recruits, each third-year cadet acted as platoon leader for a part of the day. Later, in the weapons room, a sergeant issued the cadets M16 rifles. Each cadet carefully examined their rifle, making sure the chamber was clear to ensure no accidental discharges occurred.

Cadets then returned to formation and stood at attention, weapons at their sides. Breaking formation, they filed into vans, some headed straight for Fort McCoy and others to Army Aviation Support Facility #2 near Dane County Regional airport.

1620 hours — “Cold Load”

Two black hawk helicopters, which can accommodate 22 people without seats, awaited half the cadets bound for Fort McCoy. The original plan was to run onto the helicopter and leave immediately, simulating a combat situation, but because of the Sept. 11 attacks the ROTC cadets “cold-loaded” the helicopter slowly and waited as the helicopter’s crew went through almost an hour of tests.

1721 hours — Liftoff

After an initial “test” liftoff, the helicopter took off for Fort McCoy. Because the swirling propellers roar so loudly that hearing loss can occur within 4 minutes, earplugs are required. While the $7 million Black Hawk is not designed for comfort, the takeoff is smooth, without any of the inner-ear pressure changes associated with most airline flights.

In the air, conversation is impossible, so no one remarks on the beautiful fall colors visible through the window. The helicopter is designed to fly between 1800 and 2500 feet, so the earth is close enough to see the fiery foliage and houses below.

While the majority of the trip is spent at 1500 ft., the helicopter descends to 400 ft. near the end of the trip, to simulate an actual combat situation. During battle, the closer the helicopter is to the ground the less noise it makes and the harder it is for enemy troops to see from the ground.

1815 hours — Touchdown

The Black Hawk delicately touches down on a Fort McCoy helicopter-landing area, and with a cadet squad leader’s point out the door, the cadets exit. With the propellers still chopping, the squad lies down in a horseshoe formation five feet from the helicopter. With one leg outstretched and the other bent to their side, they aim their rifles the way they are facing. To the left, the other squad exits the other helicopter in a similar fashion, and within seconds, both aircraft leave.

Deserted by the helicopters, the cadets from both helicopters stand in formation and march towards the barracks. This area consists of rows upon rows of white, two-story barracks, giving it an eerie suburban feel. The area is basically barren and incredibly clean; not a speck of litter can be seen. Apart from the occasional over-flying aircraft, the platoon’s redundant “left, left, left, right, left,” is the only sound piercing the cool fall air.

1830 — Every meticulous detail

After a 10-minute march, the cadets meet their peers who arrived by van. Immediately, the troops enter the barracks. Cadets stay on the first floor, while four-year, or “senior” cadets stay on the second. Inside, the barracks are one wide hallway with ten beds on each side and a chest at the end of each bed.

They immediately begin unpacking and begin making their beds. The beds must be made tightly, with the sheet about 6 inches down from the headboard and “hospital corners.” Without the accompanying philosophy, the amazing attention to detail seems pointless. As senior cadet Jason Crow said, “In a combat situation, if you miss one little detail, you can get someone killed.”

2000 hours — The dreadful MRE

Once the cadets finish unpacking, they begin eating. The meal is an Army-issued MRE, or “Meal Ready-to-Eat.” The two entrees, packaged in a thick plastic bag are “Swiss steak” and “noodles with butter sauce.” A chemical heater activated by water heats the packages.

The meals include a dessert, some sort of candy, a beverage mix and a packet with toilet paper, salt, Tabasco, a laxative gum and other accessories. Each component has a similar taste because each is super-preserved with the same chemicals.

The meals have 2,000 total calories and are designed to, “stop you up,” Crow said. “In a combat situation you don’t always have time to go to the bathroom.” After the meal the cadets attend classes in the barracks on leadership and basic rifle marksmanship.

The cadets are given time to clean up and use the latrine, and they go to bed.

2400 hours — “GET UP!”

With the cadets in bed and on the brink of sleep, the senior cadets quietly get up and file down the stairs. Banging on a garbage can, they flick on the lights and march up and down the first floor, telling the cadets to get up and get outside.

“The enemy does not run on a schedule; learn to be adaptive!” Crow yells. The cadets hurry confusedly to put on their shoes, grab the M16 they sleep with, and run outside. In an empty field, senior cadets lead the sleepy cadets through a series of flutter kicks, pushups, and other calisthenics.

At first, the cadets quietly grumble through the training as senior cadets disparage the group’s teamwork.

“All I see are a bunch of individuals that should be a team!” Crow yells.
However, as the training wears on, certain cadets take on leadership roles and yell louder, encouraging their peers and counting repetitions. A half-hour passes, and the senior cadets order the cadets inside.

Afterwards, Crow stresses that the midnight “smoke session” was not hazing, but a team-building exercise. Crow said the smoke session served as a shared experience the cadets could rally around, building a tighter team. “I guarantee you they’re a closer team right now,” he said. “I guarantee they’re a changed people.”

Saturday 0400 hours — Wake-Up

Going on about three hours of sleep, the cadets pack up, clean the barracks and file into the vans for breakfast at the Fort McCoy mess hall. While the cadets may grumble about the smoke-session, they grumble to each other. The previous day the troops had been a quieter reserved group, but now they joke around like old friends.

0720 hours — The Zero Range

At the range, cadets file out of the vans and are given ammunition for their rifles. The cadets zero their M16s at a target, calibrate the front and rear sights on their weapon to coincide with their personal shooting style.

1100 hours — Qualifying Range

With their weapons zeroed, the cadets go to a qualifying range. Before they can become an officer, cadets are required to hit 23 of 40 targets at a variety of distances. The sillouhette-shaped targets pop up from the ground at varying distances, and stay up for varying amounts of time. The impact of the bullet knocks the target back to the ground. While the qualifying range is only practice, some of the experienced cadets are obviously ready for the real thing. For inexperienced shooters, the M16 kicks back and can hit an inexperienced shooter in the nose.

1500 hours — Land Navigation

As the wet and cold begins to wear down the cadets, they eat their MREs in the rain and prepare for the land navigation mission, some underneath makeshift rain-poncho shelters. The senior cadets give them a number of coordinates they must plot on a map. Using their map, compass and the terrain, their mission is to find them out in the field, where they are marked with white posts.

About three hours later, when they have completed the drill, the cadets begin filtering back to camp. They change their soaked socks and prepare for a second round of land navigation, this time at night.

The rain and cold continue, and one cadet, shaking from the cold, does not find his way back until four hours later. A lieutenant colonel notices this cadet and tells him to get in one of the running, heated vans. He also exempts the shivering cadet from the night navigation exercise.

For night navigation, cadets use a flashlight with a red lens, a map and a compass. The red lens is used because white light disrupts the eyes’ natural night vision, and it can take 20 minutes or more for them to readjust. The white posts are marked with neon glow-sticks and are difficult to see from anywhere more than 50 meters away.

Initially, senior cadets planned to camp in the field Saturday night, but because of the harsh weather conditions they decided to go back to the barracks. Once the cadets arrive back at camp, an hour later, they head back to the barracks for well-deserved warm showers, dry clothes and sleep.

Sunday 0800 hours — “On rappel, high tower!”

The next morning, the cadets head to breakfast and out to the rappelling course. After a safety class and harness-tying class, the cadets use a ten-foot rope to tie an uncomfortably tight harness around their waist and legs. To practice rappelling, they then use the stairs to ascend a ten-foot wall that sits at a 45-degree angle to practice rappelling. A rope is attached to both the top of the wall and the rappeller. Another cadet holds the rope at the bottom of the wall.

The rappellers lower themselves in a series of jerky falls, holding onto ropes with their feet pressed against the wall. The first wall proves easy for the cadets, and they move next to a 34-foot wall perpendicular to the ground. The 90-degree angle proves tough for some of the cadets. Once on top of the wall, they back up to the edge, teeter their heels over the edge and lean back. At an exact instant, the cadet’s center of gravity shifts and the rappeller must take two quick steps to adjust and rappel down the wall.

Some walk themselves slowly down, while others push forcibly against the wall with their feet and bound down. A number of the cadets slip, some flipping upside down and falling head-over-heels. However, the cadet on the ground stops their fall with a short tug on the rope.

Next, the cadets move onto a 55-foot wall. While 34 feet seemed high, the 55-footer seemed unsettlingly high. Many cadets grew scared with each step they took up the stairs. Again, some cadets did well, while others again slipped and fell, rescued by their peers on the ground.

After the cadets finished rappelling, they constructed a rope bridge across a small gorge. They fastened a clip at their waist attached to their rappelling harness to the rope bridge. Hanging underneath the rope, they slid themselves upside-down across the gorge.

1200 hours — Homebound

After the rappelling course, vans took the cadets back to the barracks. They cleaned the barracks a final time and headed back home. Senior cadets, cadets and active-duty officers who oversee ROTC agreed the weekend had been a success.

“It would have been nice if the weather would have cooperated a little more, but the cadets had a good time doing it and we got some good training in,” Lieutenant Colonel Donna Williams said. “The point of the training is for the cadets to have fun and learn something, not to be miserable in the rain.”
As the cadets waited to head back to Madison, they joked and reminisced about the weekend. They were a changed group.

Nothing in the military is ever done without a reason. From the smoke session to the hospital corners to the miserable rain and cold, everything taught cadets, senior cadets and reporters something about themselves and each other. They learned to push the limits of their bodies and minds, and no one broke. These were respectable citizens taking on an enormous responsibility and doing it with honor. These are the people that should serve America, and the nation is lucky they are willing.