In the 2 years I have been on this forum I have not seen this topic addressed so I will attempt. DS is an MSII and excitedly relayed his weekends training they just completed. On Friday afternoon they practiced rigging heavy loads to helos where the helo was hovering “about 3 feet above my head". Then they loaded the entire battalion into helos and took off for Ft. Carson. DS said it was amazing to fly over Denver with the doors open. I think he is now hooked on aviation! Down time at Ft. Carson for the rest of the evening. Sat. at 5 up and going, literally, 12 mile ruck in full gear with a rifle. After that they did various ops/drills, medical evac, range with the 10th SF group, and the "Mogadishu Mile" (for those of you not familiar with this get a copy of BLACKHAWK DOWN and you will get a sense of why this type of training is necessary).Sat. evening food collected but told not to worry " you will be getting a hot meal later". At some point during this they all did an AFPT, running the 2 miles with a rifle and in boots. Now dark, they (squad or fire team I can't remember) are given land nav point to get to; upon arrival they are told its dinner time!!! Here is your dinner, a live rooster. No one in DS group wanted to kill it at first then DS grabbed it, put his boot on its head and pulled it off. (“Pretty savage dad"). They cooked it and ate it. By the time they made it back to camp it was about 5: 00 a.m. he said it was all he could do to walk a straight line and said it was the hardest 24 hours of his entire life. I could sense the pride in his voice as he was telling me about it especially when he said some of the other battalions were just getting up from their "hard day of paintball". DS is thankful he has a PMS that is training them hard so he will be prepared.
What does weekend AROTC training look like?
- Thread starter sheriff3
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Was this their Spring FTX or was this in addtion to?
Sounds like your son's battalion really has things together. Good for them and him.
Of course it doesn't hurt being located near an active duty base
DS's battallion visited Whitman AF Base to review helo's and get a look at the B2's. No rides but a good education.
Sounds like your son's battalion really has things together. Good for them and him.
Of course it doesn't hurt being located near an active duty base
DS's battallion visited Whitman AF Base to review helo's and get a look at the B2's. No rides but a good education.
Were all the cadets allowed to participate in the helicopter ride? If so, do you know what channels your DS's battalion went through to arrange that. My person battalion has tried, since we are close to an active duty base, but the response we received was only contracted cadets would be allowed to take the ride. We're hoping next year to make this happen and any information would be appreciated.
-Bull-
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That usually depends on what is coordinated between the ROTC unit and the aviation unit. My school incorporated aviation fairly often, but it helps when one of the cadre have a good relationship with the local aviation unit and both can come up with training that's beneficial to both. I think as far as only allowing contracted cadets, it would depend on the risk a commander wants to assume. We had school administrators, non contracted, AF ROTC that would fly with us sometimes, but it takes a couple extra hoops to jump through.
Sheriff, sounds like DS had a good time. 10th Group has a nice setup out there (and a really good DFAC), I got to visit there a few times during CTLT.
EDelahanty
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Sounds like a well-planned FTX. Dessert was a choice between profiteroles and creme brulee, followed by a platter of fine, ripened cheeses.
I believe it was Spring FTXWas this their Spring FTX or was this in addtion to?
Sounds like your son's battalion really has things together. Good for them and him.
Of course it doesn't hurt being located near an active duty base
DS's battallion visited Whitman AF Base to review helo's and get a look at the B2's. No rides but a good education.
Sorry not sure if it was just limited to contracted cadets or not.
I think since it was a rooster dessert was cadbury eggs.....
If I'm not mistaken DS PMS is SF and has likely done some other jobs in the Army one does not normally talk about. Same with their MSGT. I think they has a very good relationship with the SF group in the area and may be able to bring things together that most units can't. Ceratinly being near such a large base like Ft. Carson helps a lot.
My son's BTN had a helo familiarization FTX in early spring (they go on 4 FTX's a year). Only contracted cadets were allowed to fly. Non contracted cadets had to ride in a truck. My son is near Ft. Bragg, and the BTN has some great connections there. Every FTX is crazy. Last weekend's FTX was almost boring, they spent the weekend weapons qualifying (he shot 38/40!). A few weeks ago he got to shadow a Rocket Artillery unit during a live fire exercise. He loved that!
Some units really do offer a very wide range of experiences for the cadets.
Some units really do offer a very wide range of experiences for the cadets.
USMCGrunt
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Weighing in on this from a Marine's perspective. I was always jealous at the gear, training facilities, and $$ available to Army units (including AROTC) for training purposes. The FTX described above sounds awesome.
I found that training is often a function of the training officer (or OIC). There are minimums and tried and true events, but the training officer can get very creative and if he applies enough energy can create some memorable events. During one of my assignments I worked with Marine Security Forces. I arranged joint training events with the California Highway Patrol involving crowd control, baton training, combat/ tactical shooting, and even got ride alongs as the CHPs practiced vehicle chases. This served a dual purpose of building relationships with the local CHP which came in handy from time to time for our Marines.
I found that training is often a function of the training officer (or OIC). There are minimums and tried and true events, but the training officer can get very creative and if he applies enough energy can create some memorable events. During one of my assignments I worked with Marine Security Forces. I arranged joint training events with the California Highway Patrol involving crowd control, baton training, combat/ tactical shooting, and even got ride alongs as the CHPs practiced vehicle chases. This served a dual purpose of building relationships with the local CHP which came in handy from time to time for our Marines.