Summer of Fun: This Cadet’s Experience at Advanced Camp
This summer I had the opportunity to go to the Army ROTC’s Advanced Camp, formerly known as Cadet Leadership Course; or CLC for short. The purpose of Advanced Camp, is to test the skills and abilities of all senior cadets, in order to demonstrate their personal capabilities at performing the duties of an officer in the U.S. Army. The course is a total of 31 days, almost half of which are spent, “in the field,” in a simulated deployment scenario.
The first few days of camp are spent completing paperwork and drawing equipment. During this time, cadets go through class room training, in order to prepare them for the field training exercise to come. Another notable event that takes place within the first week of “camp” is the gas chamber. This was one of my favorite training events, because nothing makes you appreciate oxygen more than a room full of CS gas (2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile gas). Weeks two and three are spent out in the field, performing platoon level tactics against the fictional terrorist organization called S.A.P.A. (Southern Atropian People’s Army). The final week of camp is spent cleaning and turning in equipment, and preparing for the graduation ceremony. Once the graduation ceremony is over, all cadets are sent on their way to further summer training or back to home.
CDT MSIV Jared Eitel