Summer Opportunities for Cadets

Belisarius

Belisarius

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Feb 26, 2017
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I recently saw some mention of cadets attending certain Army training schools such as Sapper, Airborne and Combat Diving. Are these the same programs available to active duty soldiers that result in earning tabs? If so, is it possible to attend Ranger School over the summer as a cadet even though it is longer than a program like the Sapper course? Thank you for your time.
 
No you cannot attend Ranger over the summer. They use to allow it, however approximately a decade ago a Cadet died while at the school which resulted in halting sending Cadets to Ranger. Tabs are only for certain courses, not all MIADs. The only opportunity you'll have for a tab is Sapper school, other than that you can get a tab through being assigned to the 101st, 82nd, 10th mtn, etc upon commissioning.
 
army2021 said:
No you cannot attend Ranger over the summer. They use to allow it, however approximately a decade ago a Cadet died while at the school which resulted in halting sending Cadets to Ranger. Tabs are only for certain courses, not all MIADs. The only opportunity you'll have for a tab is Sapper school, other than that you can get a tab through being assigned to the 101st, 82nd, 10th mtn, etc upon commissioning.
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Ok, thank you very much.
 
et81 said:
Except you can earn an airborne tab, not just sapper.
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Upon further investigation, I found on the West Parents Club of Alaska website that you can earn the Sapper tab, as army2021 noted, as a cadet, but the Airborne School only provides a badge- Combat Diving and Air Assault also provide badges. This seems odd as you typically earn a tab for graduating Airborne. Et81, do you know if that site is incorrect?
 
The answer is yes we are both right. The badge and the tab are the same thing. They are not two different schools or anything like that. The thing that @army2021 hit on about the Units is that you can have the badge but not be in an Airborne unit. If you have the badge and are in an Airborne Unit then you wear the tab. The Sapper tab is different because it an individual tab not a Unit tab therefor you can wear it as a tab no matter what unit you are with this is the same thing as Special Force,Ranger, Jungle, Arctic and a few other Tabs. Hopefully that clears it up a bit.
 
et81 said:
The answer is yes we are both right. The badge and the tab are the same thing. They are not two different schools or anything like that. The thing that @army2021 hit on about the Units is that you can have the badge but not be in an Airborne unit. If you have the badge and are in an Airborne Unit then you wear the tab. The Sapper tab is different because it an individual tab not a Unit tab therefor you can wear it as a tab no matter what unit you are with this is the same thing as Special Force,Ranger, Jungle, Arctic and a few other Tabs. Hopefully that clears it up a bit.
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Ah gotcha thanks. That clears up my question. Aren't Jungle and Arctic tabs regional and synonymous with the Airborne tab in that they can only be worn in their respective units, though? I don't think those two are Army-wide either; Jungle was until it was discontinued.
 
You could be correct on the regional aspect potentially only to the 25th and 10th mountain but Im not really sure on that.
 
Watch the Earn the Tab video to clear it up. Also, while you can go to different mountain and jungle warfare schools at the Academy, they do not result in authorized badges or tabs. I had heard that some mountain ones do hand out badges, however they aren't within Army Regs. It is possible to earn one as a foreign award however that's a completely new category. But in the end, jungle tab which was assigned to an Army unit isn't in use anymore, mountain tab is only for that division. You can earn Air Assault, Airborne, Combat Divers Course, Pathfinders, etc. badges, however realistically you'll get either AA or Airborne. Other opportunities are once again Sapper mentioned above and SERE School. The list of available MIADs and how many slots per MIAD changes on an individual bases annually so you won't know unfortunately until you get there. Lastly there are AIADs which can be done, which are your academic opportunities such as internships with fortunate 500 companies to federal agencies. Also study abroad programs for semesters or during the summer can be accomplished. USMA has a lot to offer. Hope this helps.
 
Sapper school CAN earn you a tab - passing without tabbing is possible.
Airborne/ air assault only give you a pin - no tab, unless you're in an airborne unit.
Ranger school is not allowed because, as mentioned, a Cadet died a while ago, but also because there is no guarantee you will finish over the course of the summer. Since Ranger school is broken up into three phases, and since you can recycle a phase if you fail, it's possible that a Cadet fails a phase and wants to recycle, but won't have the time during the summer to actually finish the training.
Mountain school only gets you a tab if you are in the 10th Mountain Division, iirc.
Combat dive earns you a pin.
Pathfinder is not currently offered at West Point.
Becoming a HALO jumper is possible, but reserved only for those who make the parachute team.
SERE school is a possibility, no tab or pin, but I don't even know why you'd put yourself through that unless you had to, anyway.
 
Yes, many opportunities for schools and internships. I know one cadet who is going to CTLT at Ft Lewis (basically he will be inserted into an active duty unit for 3 weeks), then off to Livermore Labs for an internship. Ask around after you get established. The opportunities over the summer are endless. Take advantage of them.
My DD went to airborne school last summer, and about half her class was cadets, ROTC, USMA, USNA... etc.
SERE... it sucks (the one at Camp McCall), and there's no tab. But you do learn alot about yourself.
 
Sure badges are cool and all but the experience is cooler than what you get from it. Focus on learning over having a stacked uniform and you'll end up there anyway.
 
civic29 said:
Sure badges are cool and all but the experience is cooler than what you get from it. Focus on learning over having a stacked uniform and you'll end up there anyway.
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For sure. Any MIADs or other experiences that you would particularly recommend?
 
Belisarius said:
For sure. Any MIADs or other experiences that you would particularly recommend?
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Base them off of what'll be best for your future in the Army and will help you best develop into whichever role you're trying to go into. It's a personal thing. What's good for me may not be good for you. Figure out what you want to do in the Army and then look at which MIADs or summer experiences will best suit you
 
The only tab you should be concerned about plebe year is the IOCT tab. :cool:
 
Summer opportunities are limitless, but cadets have so much going on they have to kind of be lucky for everything to fit within the schedule. Sometimes you can miss out on one thing because it happens same time as another. We are still trying to figure out when our son might be home this summer. Sounds like may be a two week block, then maybe another one week block, but maybe not....
 
I had Honor Guard Tab when I was an MP with Company B MP;Ft McPhearson, Atlanta. Was even in the parade when General Colin Powell became our base commander. Nothing like being enlisted where there were 2 Senior Officers to each enlisted on the base. It is kind of wild that Ft McPhearson aka 1st and 2nd Army, Forscom Command back in my day is now Tyler Perry's studios. I think Ft Gilliam which we also provided security for is still there since it is/was place that the FEMA trailers are kept for Southeastern Region and AAFES secure warehousing and jewelry safes. ...Memories.... now our kids turn to make those memories of service (and fun)
 
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