Summer training after Plebe year

ca2midwestmom

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Messages
1,335
Plebes are starting to hear what their summer training will be this summer. My DS will be doing Air Assault 2 and CFT2. He has approx. 1 week after grad week before AA2, then 2-2.5 weeks after AA2 before CFT2, then another 2 weeks after CFT2 before reorgy. My understanding is that AA2 is at WP, and CFT2 is at Buckner/WP. I'm assuming he can take leave/come home on the off weeks, but it's unlikely we can purchase 3 sets of airline tickets for the summer. Can he stay at WP in the off weeks? If so, what would he do while there?
 
My understanding is that AA2 is at WP
A little off-topic, but when did they start doing AA school at WP? Back in my day they sent everyone to Fort Campbell where your class would also consist of 101st enlisted, officers etc... Being mixed in was one of the best parts of it as you were exposed to some "regular" Army soldiers. Maybe that is too expensive to do now?
 
billyb, my grad did Air Assault at Camp Smith across the river from West Point.
http://dmna.ny.gov/campsmith/index.php

In the past, cadets stayed in transient barracks when they had time between training but with the construction, I don't know if things have changed.
 
I should have said my understanding is that AA is at Camp Smith, not WP -- but relative to Fort Campbell, it's close to WP.

Dixieland -- if a cadet stays in the transient barracks in between training, do they have duties/responsibilities? Or is it still considered leave, but at WP? Just not sure how feasible it will be to pay for multiple airline tickets in the span of a couple of months. And we have no family within driving distance for him stay a few days here and there.
 
I bet if he checks he can find a friend in the northeast to hang out with during leave.
 
I should have said my understanding is that AA is at Camp Smith, not WP -- but relative to Fort Campbell, it's close to WP.

Dixieland -- if a cadet stays in the transient barracks in between training, do they have duties/responsibilities? Or is it still considered leave, but at WP? Just not sure how feasible it will be to pay for multiple airline tickets in the span of a couple of months. And we have no family within driving distance for him stay a few days here and there.
My memory is a bit foggy, ca2midwestmom, but I think that if they stay in transient barracks, they can be assigned some sort of light duty. I also think there might be an accountability formation at night. My grad stayed there for various reasons and he never complained so it didn't really register with me. Your plebe can use the time between graduation and AA to get his gear together.

Sorry I wasn't more helpful.
 
I guess it depends what your son likes to do. Transient barracks are not the most...stimulating place in the world. You may have a formation in the morning and at night, and then in between do literally nothing. Not many people stay at WP at this time, so it tends to be empty, boring and sort of depressing. Most of the kids I saw staying at transient were the type to play World of Warcraft for 8 hours, grumble when they had to do a detail, then go back to their computer.

I would definitely encourage him to try and find a buddy near him if that sounds annoying. Those 2 weeks after AA2 were literally the best two weeks I've had off since joining the Army in 2011. But, as I said, it depends on the person.
 
He just told me there were ~150 spots for Airborne (but most go to upperclassmen) and ~700 spots for AA. From talking to other parents it sounds like corps squad athletes do a PIAD instead of AA or AB, plus CFT1, and that trading goes on to switch weeks within a given training. I'm sure it will be another few months before we look at airline tickets for the summer.
 
He just told me there were ~150 spots for Airborne (but most go to upperclassmen) and ~700 spots for AA. From talking to other parents it sounds like corps squad athletes do a PIAD instead of AA or AB, plus CFT1, and that trading goes on to switch weeks within a given training. I'm sure it will be another few months before we look at airline tickets for the summer.
Mine said 4 plebes in his company got ABN, which was his first choice. He said he wasn't sure how the selection was made other than it had at least something to do with their military grade. Not sure how that is calculated, but I think mine is doing well. AASLT is still a good school.
 
Most ABN slots did not go to upperclassmen. I can attest that 4 plebes in my company received ABN and no upperclassmen did. As a whole probably 75%-80% of airborne and air assault slots went to plebes. Rather, the sheer number of air assault slots versus airborne slots results in most plebes attending air assault. Probably better in the end too, since as an officer, you will have more opportunities to attend airborne school than air assault school.
 
Thanks EagleScout13 -- I may have misunderstood what my DS said. Do you know anything about the dive/swim training school? Not sure what it's really called -- my DS called it combat drowning. He's interested in that also. How competitive is it, and when is it offered (what class year)? Usually I only hear about things after they've happened ... rarely the beforehand process or what he's contemplating.
 
EagleScout13 will have better info, but the previous supe (MG Clarke) came to last years Founders Day dinner and said, IIRC, that about 20 slots in 2013 were available for Combat Diver school. It's run by a SF group at Key West. 19 cadets passed and the only DNF was due to an inner ear problem that kept that cadet from finishing. "Downproofing" is always a tough part of all those diver schools.

I think I read somewhere (here?) that the Combat Diver class dates change every year and it sometimes falls into dates where it is hard to schedule cadets into it because of other fixed West Point specific training.
 
Last edited:
Son graduated from Combat Dive school in '13, along with approx 20 WP cadets. It's my understanding that there is a "tryout" in the fall - around Oct/Nov, and then the selected cadets train the rest of the year for the course. If I remember correctly, most cadets went the summer after cow year, since most of the cadets he knew commissioned last summer. There may have been a few that were a year younger.

The only course cadets can attend is the one that begins approx 25 May and ends approx 3 July. I don't believe they go to any other class, although classes are held virtually year-round.
 
Combat Dive school is probably the hardest try-out and subsequently one of the hardest schools you can attend in the Army. One of my friends in my company completed the try-out, and after the Army physical fitness test, indoor obstacle course test, 8-9 mile ruck march, pull-up test, and I think a short swim test, those competing for combat dive are basically stuck in the pools for the next 6 hours or so, alternating between swimming, treading water, and having water poured in their faces while they do flutter kicks. Not to scare you too much, but some cadets typically will pass out during the test too, and have to be revived with on-site oxygen. It certainly is not for the light-hearted.
 
Back
Top