The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Mackenzie Reiss

ITHACA, N.Y. - In a mix of mud and snow, Army cadets slosh on to the next training station. They pull their rucksacks on, sling their weapons across their backs and zip up their Gortex jackets. Still not warm enough. The wind comes, dusting a new coat of snow across their faces, and it doesn't let up. Shiver, push-up, dance - anything to keep the blood flowing.

It's 8:30 a.m. on day three of the spring Field Training Exercise, or FTX, and it's 38 degrees outside. The 300 student-soldiers from Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology and Cornell University have been awake for nearly four hours, and it'll be another four until lunch is served. Five more obstacles to go.

The cadets and commanding officers, including 88 from SU, met in Ithaca, N.Y., Thursday for a four-day joint field training exercise to test their leadership skills against inclement weather and physical obstacles. While the training is mandatory for all years, the focus of the weekend was to prepare the junior cadets for summer leadership training held in Fort Lewis, Wash.

"You're tired, and the rest of your squad is tired, cold and wet," said Lt. Col. Susan Hardwick, SU ROTC battalion commander. "Can you still get from point A to point B and accomplish a task?"

That is the question that many junior cadets will have to answer. While at Leadership Development and Assessment Camp (LDAC), the junior cadets are evaluated on mental, emotional and tactical performance. The top third of cadets will have their first choice in branches upon graduation, so first-rate execution is critical, said Capt. Lisa Dweyer of Cornell University.

On patrol lanes further down the road, orders filter down the chain of command. A junior cadet issues a plan of action. Cadets scramble to write it all down before relaying the operation order to the rest of the team. The mission: maintain security in the area and check for enemy forces.

The squad departs and heads further into the woods. The terrain is difficult, and broken branches and puddles hinder its pace. "Enemy and civilians in sight," a commanding officer says, and the cadets find the ground, now silently gesturing to their peers where to go next. A combatant comes into view. Two cadets check him for weapons. They let him pass. Big mistake. He was posing as a terrorist with a bomb in transit. It goes off and two men are down. Two cadets are "dead." They failed the mission this time. Where was their security, their communication? They'll do better the next time, it's agreed, before the unit moves out, trekking onward to meet their next 90-minute challenge.

Continued...

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