Extra Training Opportunities
Additional training opportunities are available to contracted cadets. These training opportunities generally occur over the summer and allow cadets hands on experience in the Active Duty Army world. Read about some of the more common training opportunities and what the Cadets had to say about their experiences.
Interested in jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft? This three week course will teach you everything you need to know to be able to jump out of a plane and land on the ground ready to continue the mission. After spending two weeks learning a proper Parachute Landing Fall (PLF) and jumping from towers of various heights, the last week is spent completing five live jumps from a C-130 or C-17 with increasing amounts of gear. Upon completion of these five jumps and graduation, cadets earn the right to wear Army Parachutist Badge. Availability of this course varies from year to year and slots are assigned based on merit.
Click to read about CDT Norton’s experience at Airborne School.
This tough, 10-day course teaches cadets to successfully “slide down a rope” out of a hovering helicopter for insertion into areas normal vehicles might have difficulty reaching. Cadets attending this course will complete an obstacle course, improve their leadership skills, complete ruck marches and learn how to properly sling load various types of equipment for Air Assault missions. Upon completion of the course, cadets earn the right to wear the Army Air Assault Badge. Much like Airborne School, the number of slots for this course varies each year and slots are assigned based on merit.
Click to read about CDT Hineline’s experience at the US Army Air Assault School.
The Basic Military Mountaineering Course is located at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont. This course combines both the summer and winter courses of instruction into one combined course that covers components of each phase depending on the time of year. Most often Cadets attend the summer course. The purpose of the BMMC is to train individuals in the skills required to conduct mountain combat operations during any climatic conditions and are awarded the Ram’s Head Device and a skill identifier upon graduation. The following are general subject areas taught during this course of instruction: mountain navigation skills, individual mountain skills, small unit mountain skills, mountain medical skills, and summer specific practical exercises.
The grueling seven-week Combat Diver Qualification Course, or CDQC, at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Fla., is neither for the weak of heart, or the idle of mind. It is as intense mentally as it is physically, with an attrition rate that truly begins before each class cycle does. Those that graduate are authorized to wear the Combat Divers Badge.
Here are some of Cadet Stewart’s thoughts on his experience:
I went to the Combat Dive Qualification Course in Key West, Florida. On the weekends we were able to go out and catch lobster, go snorkeling, or enjoy the food on the island.
The hardest part for me, was the one-man confidence test, where you are tested to stay calm in simulated rough seas. Overall, the course was separated into 6 parts: pool week, intro to open circuit diving, advanced open circuit diving, intro to closed circuit diving, advanced open circuit diving, and the field training exercise week. Personally, my biggest takeaway was the absolutely necessary attention to detail, as your equipment is your lifeline underwater. As this is a special forces school, being around all of the green berets really helped show their part of the Army you don’t get to see as often, and really enjoy the camaraderie between them all.
Welcome to the jungle! The Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC) is a 20 day school offered out of the East Range Training Complex in Hawaii. Over the course of these 20 days, students are taught how to fight and win in a tropical environment. Week one consists of physical tests as well as training in mobility techniques, survival and tracking. During week two students are tested on knots, systems and a written test, and learn jungle battle drills and tactics, and also conduct a survival exercise. Finally, during week three students apply what they have learned and conduct squad level jungle operations and complete a rigorous physical event called the Green Mile. Those that graduate are awarded the Jungle Tab.
The Sapper Leader Course is a demanding 28-day leadership development course located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri that reinforces critical skills and teaches advanced techniques needed across the army. It is also designed to build esprit de corps by training soldiers in troop-leading procedures, demolitions (conventional and expedient), and mountaineering operations. The course culminates in an intense field-training exercise that reinforces the use of the battle drills and specialized engineer techniques learned throughout the course. Those that graduate are awarded the Sapper Tap.
What better way to learn what it is to be a Second Lieutenant than to follow along in the footsteps of one for a few weeks? This is exactly the concept behind the CTLT program, where cadets are assigned to Active Duty Second Lieutenants in a program designed to provide hands on training to cadets in the environment they will soon find themselves in. These slots are limited to MS III’s upon successful completion of LDAC and slots are available in both the United States and overseas locations. Click on the links below to read about some of our more recent cadets’ experiences at CTLT.
Read about Badger Battalion cadets’ experiences at CTLT below: