ROTC cadets at Florida A&M University and Florida State University conducted their annual fall field training exercises last weekend at the city’s water treatment facility.
Three days of training were spent working on various mission-essential tasks in a field environment. The cadets were preparing for advanced camp, which will be held in spring.
Cadets are preparing themselves to become officers in the United States Army.
Akira Brown, the officer in charge of the training and operations, stressed the importance of the training exercises.
“We have land navigation and wolverine lanes which is getting the cadets prepared for camp next year. This is very crucial for the juniors because preparation for camp is very important. We have about 100 students participating in the field training including FAMU and FSU students,” Brown said.
During the first day of training, cadets gathered in groups for land navigation which allowed them to use a compass and establish a pace count, utilizing the information about distance and degree between two designated points to navigate a predetermined path from beginning to end. This is also good when they are in the woods or walking on roads.
During the second day, cadets experienced wolverine lanes which is familiarization with missions. They did movement to contact and attack which are two missions that show up for advanced camp.
The third day was spent familiarizing themselves with concepts and equipment through a familiarization camp. They were working on breaking down the 240, which is a type of weapon. They learned how to do an OPP board, which is crucial when running missions so they know what they are doing.
During the three days, cadets had the option of bringing their meals, including MREs, which are ready-to-eat self-contained individual United States military rations.
Ms. ROTC, Resinia Troupe of the Rattler battalion, shared how she feels heading to camp.
“This year is my most important year because I go to camp next year. I learned about squad attacks, ambushes, and raids and we went over three stations about what we would be doing in camp so opp boards, weapons, and tanks which is a terrain model camp. If I was to rate it I would rate it an 8 just because of how cold it was in the morning,” Troupe said.
Cadet Brianna Passmore discussed her experience of being an Army ROTC cadet while attending Florida A&M University.
“While preparing for MS3 I have experienced a lot of different things for the ROTC. I’m here to watch and learn and watch the leaders. I also will be watching how the leaders go about their roles. My experience was good and everything happened so quickly. I first experienced wolverine lanes and land navigation,” Passmore said.
Several trainings were offered to Army cadets during their training sessions to help them prepare tactically for their future roles as officers.