Delta Company Cadets present the colors Thursday at the final graduation of LTC 2011. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Noelle Wiehe
Staff writer

It is finished.

Delta Company closed out the 2011 Leader’s Training Course Thursday, with 195 Cadets marching across Brooks Field for graduation. In all, nearly 800 students from across the country graduated the course this summer.

With a few hundred people looking on, Col. Eric Winkie, the LTC commander, looked out from his reviewing stand at the Cadets, the sun shining on them, and proclaimed: “What a great day to be a Soldier at Fort Knox.”

Though the company took center stage, 16 Delta members received special recognition as they earned honors from several sponsor organizations. Among them were Mary Nelson of the University of Virginia and Taylor Duncan of Marion Military Institute, who received the Armed Forces Services Corporation Award for achieving the highest female and male scores, respectively, on the Army Physical Fitness Test. Nelson tallied the highest score among all females at LTC this summer with a 374, while Duncan topped Delta Company males with a 330.

In applauding Cadets on their achievement, Winkie had the Cadets applaud their families and friends who had supported them along the way and who had come to watch them graduate. He also spotlighted veterans in attendance.

“Delta Company, these men and women are the reason we are free today,” Winkie said. “You, Delta Company, are the reason we will be free tomorrow.”

Brig. Gen. Marcia Anderson, deputy commander for the Human Resources Command at Fort Knox and the graduation’s guest speaker, said the Cadets’ drive and ability to work together were pivotal in them making it to the end.

“Your courage has been tested mentally, physically and emotionally,” she said. “But your success here is a testament to your desire to work individually and collectively as a team.”

Pointing out that Delta Cadets represented 89 different schools, Anderson said the group’s diversity reflects that of the Army.

“But as different as you may be, you have one thing in common: the opportunity, if you choose it, to lead,” Anderson said.

Some parents, family members and friends of Delta Cadets traveled hours to witness the company’s finale.

Linda Passafiume traveled eight and a half hours from Clemson, S.C., to see her granddaughter, Carley Shafer of Valley Forge Military College. Shafer’s father, James, drove 12 hours from Wilmington, N.C.

Despite the distance, they said they found the trip worthwhile. James Shafer had barely talked to his daughter throughout the 29 days of training, other than some texting and a few phone calls.

For Cathy Culberson, parent of William Culberson of Marion Military Institute, this was not the first time she had traveled from her home in Birmingham, Ala., to LTC to see her son. William Culberson suffered from appendicitis earlier this summer when he was first assigned to Charlie Company, but he was reassigned to Delta after he recovered and made it through the course.

“He called that morning, and I’m like ‘I’m on my way,’” she said. “After I talked to his current commander and everything, I was comfortable with it.”

Cadet Andre Hearn of the New Mexico Military Institute said he was sad his family did not make it to Fort Knox to share in his accomplishment. But he was happy nonetheless.

“Now I can move on and become normal again, back to my life — at least until I have to go back to school and become a military boy again,” Hearn said.

***Photographer’s note****

I have enjoyed working with the Cadets of Delta Company for this summer. Watching them grow was an extraordinary experience for me, not only as their photographer but as a friend. Throughout this summer, Cadets faced many things together, including the hardships of training as well as being away from home. They became friends who supported and motivated each other to keep going strong. This was evident in their final PT test when the faster Cadets finished their two-mile time then kept running back to run next to others who hadn’t finished to encourage them and to never let them give up. I am proud to have worked with such an exceptional group of leaders, and I wish each and every one of them good luck in their future careers. Thank you for letting me be a part of  this company.

Best Wishes,

Sammy Jo

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Delta Company Cadet Sarah Duncan helped start an organization at Florida Tech to support military veterans. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Sara Nahrwold
Staff writer
Starting a campus group from scratch is no easy feat, but Delta Company Cadet Sarah Duncan knew what she wanted to do when she co-founded Florida Tech Students Supporting Troops this past spring.

“I was engaged to an enlisted Soldier, and I wanted to show him that I supported him and I knew there were other friends of mine who had family members overseas so we wanted to support them,” she said. “There’s no group on campus that did anything for them.”

The group wants to send care packages and letters to troops overseas, making it known that they are remembered for their service.

Duncan had the original idea and sought the advice of Kaitlyn Bell, the vice president of the group.

“I had a hard time imagining what exactly we would do, but when we started brainstorming with our adviser, a lot of things came to light that we could use around our school campus to rally support and awareness,” she said.

The two bounced around ideas for the group name and finally settled on the current title.

“We were sitting around with another one of my friends, and the three of us just pondered names for about an hour or so,” Bell said. “A little while later, the name just kind of came to me. It was sort of a compilation of some of the things that we had come up with.”

Although excited about the start of a new group, Duncan has faced pressure with her role as president and co-founder.

“There’s a lot of pressure because we are in the process of starting things because we started in the middle of last semester, so we couldn’t really get anything done,” she said. “It’s a lot of pressure because there’s no one else I can rely on. I have to do everything, and organize it.”

With fall semester nearing, Duncan hopes to soon begin sending care packages and letters with the help of her fellow members.

“The MREs are really gross, so we would be sending beef jerky, candy, stuff that doesn’t perish fast and tastes good,” she said. “For the females, they need makeup or simple things that we take for granted like toilet paper and toothbrushes and toothpaste.”

The funding will be difficult to raise at first, Duncan said. The group does not have a set amount of how much they want to raise at this point.

“Originally, I had a job and I was going to just put money from my job into it and then I had to quit my job to come here,  so now I will probably use the money I get from here to help my group out,” she said. “I know we are using some of the money I get here to make T-shirts and stuff and get other people to come and join.”

The letters will be written back and forth between students and Soldiers like a pen pal. Duncan has been contacting recruiters at her university to see if there are troops deployed with connections to Florida Tech to write letters to.
The bottom line for Duncan is she wants troops to know people at home care.

“It makes me feel good like I’m actually doing something,” she said. “Not very many people think about the troops overseas. I have friends overseas, and they said they didn’t know that people actually cared and they didn’t know that people realized they were still out there.”

Duncan hopes the group will continue on after she is president for a semester.

“I’m pretty sure once I graduate, someone else is going to take it up because I know a lot of my members are really passionate about the group,” she said.

Florida Tech Students Supporting Troops is the only military-related one at the school, making it unique among the other clubs.

“It gives us the opportunity to teach others in our school who are from outside the U.S. about the U.S. military and why some of us support it so,” Bell said.

While she is president, Duncan has set goals to accomplish during the group’s first year.

“I hope our Soldiers know that we care, and I hope that it stays around for awhile at my school and that it gets bigger and more people get active in it,” she said.

Delta Company Cadet Tyler Cobb has participated in World War II re-enactments for the past four years. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Sara Nahrwold
Staff writer
Clad in wool pants, paratrooper boots and a wool blouse, Delta Company Cadet Tyler Cobb hiked around the side of a mountain with full gear and through about a foot of snow in Pennsylvania.

The 18-year-old from Marion Military Institute has been participating in World War II re-enactments for the past four years.

“I went to one and just viewed it, and I just kind of really wanted to do it and I started and just fell in love with it,” he said.

Cobb’s interest in participating was sparked by his uncle, who has been involved in re-enactments for 25 years.

“It kind of helped get him started on his military career,” Tom Arter said. “WW II gear is different than modern, but it’s the same concept. He’s learned some tactics, some shooting skills and learned cohesiveness.”

Although he shoots blanks for re-enactments, the practice has helped him with weapon training while at the Leader’s Training Course, Cobb said.

After starting on the hobby four years ago, Cobb finally has all of his gear.

“I’ve been borrowing gear for the past few years,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to go to it now because I have all the gear.”

Arter is impressed with how Cobb treats his gear.

“He’s very interested in making sure everything is authentic, the gear is squared away perfectly and he follows orders to a T,” Arter said.

The weapons are one of the draws for Cobb’s interest in WW II.

“Just the weapons they used are neat,” he said. “It’s not the old black-powered rifles and stuff like that. It’s a lot more fun with the machine guns and the tanks.”

Although he has participated in small re-enactments, Cobb was part of a bigger re-enactment of the Battle of the Bulge in Pennsylvania.

“You go through the same battle drills, kind of like what we do here for the squad tactical exercise but we’re using the actual weapons with blanks,” he said.

Cobb enjoys meeting new people when he participates in re-enactments at various locations.

“You get to meet a lot of people,” he said. “A lot of people who have been in the military, a lot of people from different walks of life.”

At re-enactments, people ask him questions to better understand the era. The typical questions he is asked are about the uniform and the weapons.

While participating, Cobb has played many different roles.

“I was portraying a medic, and they had the casualties and we had to load them up onto the Jeep and take them back to the medic tent,” he said.

Being one of the younger participants doesn’t bother him.

“The last one I did, I was the youngest one,” he said. “Everybody just gets along and does the same thing, and the age gap doesn’t really do anything.”

Although it’s not the typical hobby of an 18-year-old, some of his friends want to join.

“They think it’s pretty neat,” he said. “I have a few friends who actually want to start it also, so they all kind of want to join in.”

Cobb plans to participate in re-enactments for a long-term. He and his uncle have only participated in a few reenactments together, but it has strengthened their bond.

“It’s neat watching him do the military moves when we re-enact,” Arter said. “I’m watching the little boy grow up.”

Andre Hearn, a Delta Company Cadet, helps his squad construct a one-rope bridge during stream-crossing training. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Noelle Wiehe
Staff writer

They call him “Big Country.” And while the nickname might seem obvious to some, as the 6-foot, 5-inch Andre Hearn towers over his fellow Delta Company Cadets, his motivational words and caring deeds stand out even more.

“When the other Cadets start yelling and screaming or we’re talking and they’re not supposed to, he’ll step up,”said Sgt. 1st Class Scott Watts, a Delta Co. drill sergeant.

Hearn is praised by cadre and looked up to by Cadets for always being willing to keep his fellow platoon members motivated throughout the different training events.

A Delta drill sergeant said that during physical training one morning, Hearn finished the run faster than a lot of Cadets in his platoon. Instead of sitting to rest, he went back on the track and ran alongside struggling Cadets to keep them motivated to complete the run.

Born and raised in Shelby County, Ky., Hearn moved from his family to Sonoita, Ariz., last year to attend the New Mexico Military Institute.

Living and working on a farm prepared Hearn for the 4 and 5 a.m. wake-ups at LTC, he said. He admits it is what he has done his whole life; live according to a routine and strict schedule.

As serious as Hearn is about the military, though, his relaxed side has sometimes gotten him into trouble with the LTC cadre.

“I think laughter is one of the most important things in life,” he said. “I couldn’t make it through LTC without laughing at the drill sergeants.”

That same attitude has made Hearn popular among the Cadets throughout his company.

“The other Cadets, they do look up to him, even in the other platoons,” Watts said. “It’s a good sign.”

Hearn has found that the other Cadets often come to him with questions. Even if it is as small as what foot to step on when they call a cadence, he is glad to help.

Though he is not used to looking out for anyone but himself, Hearn is still proud when Cadets benefit from his advice. One Cadet even led a march to the chow hall and chanted a cadence Hearn had taught him.

“I was back there smiling the whole time,” he said. “It makes me feel good that he went out there and was like, ‘I’m going to trust what Hearn said to me.’ ”

At LTC, Hearn feels he fits in. But even he was the recipient of some motivation when it came to events in which he struggled.

He had some trouble with the water events. Living on a farm, Hearn never felt swimming would be valuable to him, seeing as even in a 6-foot deep end he remains above water.

Hearn said when he got to Gammon Pool, where combat water survival training is held, he did not even try the stations but instead went to the three days of remedial swimming where a Delta Co. drill sergeant helped him learn the basics.

“I didn’t really swim,” Hearn said. “I did what we call throw your body through the water.”

In high school, Hearn played football and worked out, so athleticism was not a hurdle he was worried about overcoming. His biggest challenge was inexperience with swimming and being completely submerged in water.

After he felt comfortable in the water, though, he passed every station on his first attempt. He said he feels he has improved and may even start swimming back home.

Hearn also had to overcome his fear of heights to complete the ropes course and the rappel tower. The other Cadets told him it was odd that he was afraid of heights because he is so tall, but Hearn admitted he was scared before scaling the 51-foot tall tower.

Besides overcoming having never swum before and his fear of heights, Hearn is learning a lot about himself at LTC.

“By being here, I found out that I don’t really know how my peers look at me,” he said. “I found out through my cadre and drill sergeants that come up to me and say, ‘Hearn, you’re a bit overbearing,’ or ‘You joke a little bit too much.’ Where I’m from, that’s what we do.”

Having dedicated much of his time recently to the military instead of farming, Hearn wants to make the Army a career.

“He knows what he wants,” Watts said. “It’s very unlikely for a 20-year-old to know exactly what and where he wants to be.”

Hearn plans to spend 30 years in the military and hopes to work his way to the rank of brigadier general. In a short time, he said he has seen how much the military has done for him, so he wants to see how much he can do for the military.

“I’ve seen myself become more controlled when it comes to people,” Hearn said. “Not dealing with a lot of people, coming from a small area, you just have to learn that people are different. They aren’t all the same.

“You have to deal with that, and make it work. That’s my LTC experience.”

Delta Company Cadets from third platoon cheer on Cadet Brian Parry after he won a marksmanship competition. Cadets in each of LTC's four companies said camaraderie was something that will stay with them. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Thomas Gounley
Staff writer

As they shuffled through the Louisville International Airport on their way to Fort Knox in June, the hundreds of Cadets didn’t know what to expect of their upcoming stint at the Leader’s Training Course. Some knew a little about the training they would go through on account of knowing past graduates, but others didn’t have that knowledge – some finding out they were coming just days before.

As the fourth and final company prepares to graduate later this week, marking the official end of LTC for 2011, Cadets reflected upon how the course has impacted them.

In some ways, the challenges were physical.

“LTC pushed me to my limit and more,” said Bravo Cadet Timothy Michael Murphy, of the University of Texas – Brownsville.

Throughout the 29-day course, and particularly in its first three weeks, Cadets were shuffled from one event to the next, testing skills from water survival to land navigation. Combined with early wake-up calls and long days in the sun, the training was unrelenting.

“At times I felt like I wanted to give up because I felt like my body couldn’t possibly do anything more, but I found strength deep inside and pushed through it,” said Bravo Cadet Erika Lackey, of the University of New Hampshire.

But the challenges were also mental. Training exercises were selected so as to test and challenge Cadets’ fears, such as a fear of heights at the Where Eagles Dare ropes course.

“Mentally, I was challenged in that I had to convince myself that I could do anything I set my mind to,” Lackey said. “Also, since I had never done ROTC before, I had to learn a lot more about the military aspects of some events, like STX (squad tactical exercise) lanes.”

While the physical rewards of the course could be easily recorded, from the first PT test to the last, the mental and emotional rewards were less obvious.

“My personality changed a lot,” said Charlie Cadet Justin Delph, of Georgia Military College. “I’m more confident; I have many new abilities. There are a lot of things I can do now that I couldn’t do.”

“It has had a really good impact on me as far as knowing who I am, and my self-esteem and leadership as well,” said Charlie Cadet Jamie Morrison, of Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina.

Throughout the course, Cadets were given opportunities to lead their fellow Cadets, as well as observe others in action.

“I learned that you need to have faith in yourself before you can lead others,” said Lackey, who hopes to become a physical therapist for the Army. “If you aren’t confident in your abilities, then your squad or platoon will question you as leader and might not trust your abilities to lead as well. Confidence is key.”

In the end, however, it was less the training that Cadets said would stick with them, but rather the camaraderie that developed.

“You become real tight-knit, like a family,” said Alpha Cadet Joe Didonato, of the University of Central Florida.

Cadets spent nearly a month as part of a squad and a platoon, and all their activities revolved around that unit.

“The main thing is you have to stay together as a platoon,” Murphy said. “Third platoon became a family. We worked hard and did the best we could. The payoff was when we won the 10k streamer.”

In some cases, what started out as intimidating, such as the drill sergeants, turned into an advantage by the end.

“Getting smoked all the time by drill sergeants helped improve my PT scores, and having them in our faces all the time made me more mentally tough,” said Bravo Cadet Austin Brackeen, of New Mexico State University.

Cadets will have the opportunity to contract with the Army when they return to their home institutions. Completing LTC allows them to enter as third-year ROTC students.

“And as of right now, I hope to make a career out of the military,” Brackeen said. “I love the military life and everything it has to offer.”

Cadet Culberson gives a thumbs-up on the slide for life at the Forrest Hills Climbing Complex on his first day after being cleared from his appendix surgery. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/ LTC PAO

By Caitlin VanOverberghe
Staff writer

Homesickness can cause bellyaches.

When Cadet William Culberson arrived at the Leader’s Training Course with Charlie Company June 24, Cadre members warned of the sudden illnesses that seem to overcome Cadets their first nights away from home.

So when Culberson started complaining about stomach pains around bedtime, his drill sergeants told him to do some stretches to make sure he didn’t have any pulled muscles and sent him back to bed.

“My entire abdomen hurt, and I thought that didn’t seem normal,” Culberson said. “I just told them, ‘I’m not faking it, I promise.’ ”

When the pain continued, Culberson was taken to the emergency room at Ireland Army Community Hospital. His symptoms corresponded with appendicitis, and even though his X-ray and CT scan both came up negative, he was scheduled for surgery the next morning.

Culberson, who will be attending Marion Military Institute in the fall, needed to complete LTC to contract at the junior military college. Lt. Col. Sean Ryan, the professor of military science at Marion and Delta Company tactical officer, arranged for Culberson to join Delta Company, which would begin training five days later.

Culberson was released into his mother’s care the day after surgery after a full day in the hospital, and stayed with her at a local hotel. The following day, Delta Company nurse 2nd Lt. Melanie Zack brought Culberson back to post to stay with a holding company until Delta’s arrival June 29.

It takes about a month for someone to return to everyday activities after an appendectomy, Culberson said doctors told him. Since Culberson’s procedure was done laparoscopically, his recovery time was set at two weeks.

During that time, he couldn’t get in water and couldn’t carry more than 10 pounds. No push-ups, no sit-ups, no running. He woke up with his platoon and sat, watching as they trained.

He admitted that time “sucked,” and he even considered returning home.

“Some of the drill sergeants and officers came up and said to me, ‘The fact that you’re willing to sit here and learn, even though you can’t participate, shows that you have the capability to be a leader, and you’ll stick with it,’ ” Culberson said.

After a check-up July 7, he was given permission to start training, under the watchful eye of cadre, as long as he didn’t push himself too far.

“The second my drill sergeant found out I was better, he made me drop and do push-ups,” Culberson said with a laugh.

Zack said she and Delta’s drill sergeants watched Culberson “like a hawk” as he started training. They wanted to make sure he didn’t pop any sutures or develop any kind of infection. He was able to join another platoon to complete the Where Eagles Dare climbing complex, the same day of his release by his doctors.

Zack said she believes Delta’s squad tactical officers won’t let the training time Culberson missed affect his final scores because they know how dedicated he was to training.

“He’s a very highly motivated Cadet, and it killed him not to be able to do the training for the first 10 days,” she said. “If we would have let him he would have trained the whole time, he wouldn’t have taken any recovery time.”

 

Alex Aspacher, an intern with the LTC public affairs office, filmed training events throughout the course using an iPad2. He captured Delta Company going through the obstacle course last week. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Rebecca Grapsy
Staff writer 

While Cadets are at the Leader’s Training Course, they can go days, if not weeks, without any contact with their families.

But unlike basic training, where family members can also go long stretches of time without any contact from their loved ones, leaderstrainingcourse.com provides articles, photographs and videos covering the training Cadets are going through at Fort Knox.

This year, there is a new addition to the coverage: live streaming video.

“This is a recruiting mission, and we’re always looking for opportunities to show people what we do and how we do it,” LTC Public Affairs Officer Steve Arel said. “Cadets are influenced by people — particularly their parents — outside the course. We’re trying to give them more information, so they can make informed decisions.”

Cadets at LTC are still being recruited, and once they return to school from the course, they have 30 days to decide to contract with the Army and continue in the Army ROTC program.

The idea of live broadcasting was implemented last year at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, streaming graduation from the Leader Development and Assessment Course, the senior leadership course all Cadets attend between their third and fourth years of ROTC.

The first test stream at LTC, using a Canon XL2 camera attached to a laptop and a Verizon hotspot, didn’t work. Not only was the set-up bulky, but in an area dominated by AT&T wireless coverage, the stream was unacceptably slow.

“We really wanted to get in the middle of the action, so people can feel what it’s like to be part of  the training,” Arel said. “That’s something that would have been difficult to do carrying a camera and a laptop.”

The idea for the ultra-portable live stream was initially tested with an iPhone 4, proving the concept was doable. But the small iPhone 4 can be hard to handle in the field and comes with a lengthy contract and steep fees for a device only needed a few months out of the year.

Enter the iPad 2.

“I don’t own an iPad — I’d never actually used an iPad,” said Alex Aspacher, the Bowling Green State University student who manages all of the iPad broadcasts in addition to his regular reporter duties.

The iPad 2, which has a fixed-distance camera, forces its videographer to get right down with the Cadets.

“When I want to shoot something close up, I have to get as close as I can get,” Aspacher said. For events like combat water survival training, held at an indoor pool, this means keeping a close grip and being particularly careful around the edges.

The stream, done through a uStream app, has rotated among the training events, aiming to showcase the entire experience of LTC rather than portray a specific company.

The broadcasts, which are linked on the LTC website and promoted event-by-event on the course’s Facebook page, have been well-received: more than 800 unique viewers this summer alone, with as many as 175 at a single show and almost 300 on a single archived video.

“Watched (today’s) live stream … really cool. I think (it’s) pretty awesome that you can do live feeds to the Internet,” Steven Blue commented on one of the live stream Facebook posts.

However, the first year of the program isn’t without its problems.

“People want a concrete schedule,” Aspacher said, explaining that a more consistent schedule could lead to more regular followers.

But because training schedules can change based on weather, platoon size and a variety of other factors, set schedules are nearly impossible. It’s not unusual for training streams to be cancelled because of safety or just bad timing.

“The uStream app likes to play tricks … and there can be small, technical kinks,” Aspacher said.

Even in an AT&T area with an AT&T device, there can be signal problems in the rural area in which Fort Knox sits. More than once, a stream has had to be cancelled because of patchy or no connectivity at a training site.

The original plan for the iPad streaming had been to have two devices to allow more streaming opportunities. When LTC was scaled back to only four companies from its original seven, so was the broadcasting.

If LTC remains at full-scale next year, with seven companies of Cadets attending throughout the summer, the iPad streaming program will be doubled.

“With the way technology is going, it will certainly be a permanent part of our program,” Arel said.

To see the full photo gallery of family day, click this link. http://bit.ly/pTU1kc

Today, Charlie Company proudly donned their ACUs to march in front of their families in the time-honored tradition of the graduation ceremony.  Afterward, Cadets were congratulated by families, friends and cadre before returning to formation and wait for the buses, where the drill sergeants left them with one last reminder of what the Army means.

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When Cadets return from one of the most action-packed events at the Leader’s Training Course, they go through a period known as recovery that often ends up being anything but a relief.

During the situational training exercise, Cadets put to work many of the skills they’ve learned during the past several weeks. After three days in the field, they find themselves spending much of their remaining time at Fort Knox — in what is called LTC’s Future Leader phase — confined to the barracks, cleaning equipment such as rucksacks, canteens, uniforms and other items they were issued shortly after their arrival.

“It’s really boring,” Cadet Carlos Moreno, from the University of Puerto Rico, said with a smile. “Sincerely, we feel like we’re in a prison right now.”

Cadre members must stay on top of the Cadets because, although grueling, recovery is an essential part of completing the course.

Brent Paul, of the Georgia Military College, cleans the inside of his helmet during Charlie Company's recovery period. Charlie Cadets graduate Saturday. Photo by Bobby Ellis/LTC PAO

Cadets start paperwork to fix damaged or defective equipment, as well as prepare for their departure and practice for an awards ceremony. Recovery also includes exit interviews with the LTC commander and sergeant major that involves “getting their feelings out,” Shoenfelder said.

“It lets them get any gripes out, anything that went wrong and anything that can be improved,” he said.

As family day and graduation approach, some Cadets need frequent reminders they are still living in a military training environment.

Recovery is “kind of a relief because they’re getting ready to go, but it kind of fluctuates their motivation level,” Shoenfeld said. “It’s kind of tough to deal with them at this point because their mentality shifts toward going home as opposed to being here, so they kind of lose their discipline. It’s kind of a back-off period for (drill sergeants), but we have to remind them a lot that they’re still here.”

In addition to cleaning their equipment and barracks, Charlie Company has been working this week on “just staying awake,” Moreno said.

Many Cadets would much rather be out training. So when they’re not cleaning, they do unscheduled physical training on their own, as well as play pranks on each other and practice imitations of some of their drill sergeants.

“Anything to keep busy,” said Cadet Sean Armstrong of Central Michigan University. “Whoever falls asleep, they get woken-up in some way.”

Armstrong and Moreno said they have both impersonated drill sergeants and kicked the bay doors open “just to mess with” sleeping Cadets.

“I kick the door open, and (another Cadet) springs out of bed and everyone starts laughing,” Armstrong said. “We have it on camera; his reaction was pretty funny.”

As they complete tedious tasks while remaining lighthearted, Cadets can look forward to a change of pace the closer they get to family day, graduation and departure later today.

“For the first few days, it was nice,” he said. “Now it’s just getting old. We’re just sitting up here stir-crazy.”

By Thomas Gounley
Staff writer

Lt. Col. Richard Ruffin might be best viewed as proof that Cadets at the Leader’s Training Course have a little more power over things than they might originally think.

“It went up the chain, they told us to give them their cell phones back and so they got their cell phones back” said Sgt. 1st Class George Reitz, a drill sergeant with Charlie Company.

Although Cadets in Charlie and Delta companies were originally just allowed to use their cell phones at night on certain days, a recent decision by course commanders made it so they had access to them each night, as Alpha and Bravo Cadets originally did. Ruffin, a quality assurance officer at LTC who serves as the go-between Cadets and course leadership when it comes to their requests, relayed the cell phone complaints.

“That’s a typical example of the process,” Ruffin said of the decision.

Lt. Col. Richard Ruffin talks to Pfc. Andrew Gowen, a medic, about Cadet injuries out at the squad tactical exercise. It is Ruffin's first year at LTC, where he is serving as the quality assurance officer. Photo by Bobby Ellis/LTC PAO

As part of his role, Ruffin meets with Cadets from all companies several times to solicit feedback, and goes to training sites to observe them in action. As the final companies enter the graduation stage, he is trying to determine what could be improved about the course in upcoming years.

“We just collect feedback through a formal process,” he said.

On Tuesday, Ruffin met in small groups with Charlie Cadets as they prepared for their out-briefing that afternoon. Cadets completed a survey on their training, and then Ruffin talked to them about common complaints, from the number of washers and dryers in the barracks (too few) to the intensity of physical training (not hard enough) to frustrating equipment failures.

While he collects the data, Ruffin emphasizes that he doesn’t make the final call.

“Once the command gets the feedback, they make the decision,” he said.

This is his first year working as part of LTC after spending six consecutive summers at the Leader Development and Assessment Course at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., the latest step in a long Army career. Ruffin completed ROTC at Alabama A&M University and joined the Army after graduating in 1979. He served on active duty as an ordnance logistics officer for 21 years, then returned to his alma mater to work with the ROTC program as a contractor.

By surveying all the LTC companies both at the beginning and at the end, Ruffin is in a unique position to see how their perspectives change.

“We’re the ones who find out what’s really happening,” he said.

Notably, Ruffin said many Cadets already planned on contracting when they came to Fort Knox, unlike past years, when many decided to contract midway through the course. It’s a change he attributed to the smaller field of attendees at LTC this year.

“When they came here, they were dead set on contracting,” he said. “The schools are sending people that want to do this.”

Ruffin, who refers to himself as a “regular guy,” has racked up 30 years of service with the Army, as well as 30 years with his wife at Huntsville.

“My claim to fame is simple consistency,” he said.

Being of Italian and Mexican heritage, Charlie Cadet Michael LaPorta grew up with a love of good food.

But since coming to the Leader’s Training Course, the Cadet from King’s College in Pennsylvania has had to say good-bye, at least briefly, to his grandma’s pancakes and hello to MREs.

Alpha Company Cadet Brian McKenna eats an MRE during a break at squad tactics training. Photo by Bobby Ellis/LTC PAO

Second Lt. Ian Kirst, who commissioned from Xavier University in Ohio, spent his first several weeks at LTC perfecting the land navigation sand table to be a mini-version of the land navigation course. To produce the mock-up, he even ventured onto the course to clip samples from trees to use as replicas of the real thing. Photo by Heather Cortright/ LTC PAO.

By Caitlin VanOverberghe
Staff writer

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Northern Kentucky University and commissioning from Xavier University, 2nd Lt. Ian Kirst never thought his first assignment as an Army officer would be more or less an “art project.”

When he came to the Leader’s Training Course to work as a cadre member, he figured to be a squad tactical officer or work one of the situational training exercise lanes. He was placed with the land navigation committee, and his first task was to create a sand table — a mock-up of the terrain at the site.

“Putting together the sand table was basically like a fifth-grade art project where you take a picture and lay a grid over it,  and do one grid at a time,” Kirst said. “Every day, I did something a little different.”

He spent one day laying out the grid he would follow. Another, he painted all the colors and laid out the roads. He built up mounds of sand to represent hills and created dips in the earth. He even lined its edge with Popsicle sticks to signify engineer tape cadre use to show to border the actual course.

In total, the sand table measures 18 feet by 18 feet and was built atop a flat surface at the land navigation site. Usually, it is destroyed after each LTC ends and a new one created at the start of each year. But this year, Kirst’s creation will live an extended life so Reserve unit that will use the site for their training in the next few months.

For years, sand tables have been used to assist in military planning. By duplicating a map or area, Soldiers are given the ability to see a terrain up close before encountering it.

The sand table at the LTC land navigation site helps Cadets do much the same thing. Rather than pointing to every individual’s map, Kirst could show Cadets certain points using the miniature version.

“It was great so the Cadets could really relate to what they were getting into,” said Lt. Col. Michael Wise, the land navigation chief who gave Kirst the model assignment. “They could see the severity of some of the inclines and hills and water areas.”

Kirst worked nearly 14 hours total on the project, changing things almost every day to the point that the model looked completely different at the end from when he was first given the assignment.

He has been told by those who have worked at LTC before that the sand table he produced is the most detailed the course has seen.

“I look at it and know that I could do better,” Kirst said. “But all it is is attention to detail. You just look at things on the map and copy them. It’s not hard to do, it’s just tedious.”

While he’s always been artistic, he had never pursued the skill in any way. Kirst had done similar models before, but nothing of this scale.

“At LDAC (Leader Development and Assessment Course), I did terrain kits for the STX (squad tactical exercise) lanes and I tried to replicate the terrain out there as best I could,” he said. “Those were much smaller and much more simplistic. This was much more in-depth.”

Working at the site has help Kirst hone his own land navigation skills.

“When you teach something, you learn it better yourself,” he said. “Working at a land nav course always improves your abilities. It just reinforces what you already know.”

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By the light of his red flashlight, Charlie Company Cadet Trenton Floyd uses the hour he has in the evening at the Leader’s Training Course to write a letter to his parents.

“I haven’t gotten to talk to them on the phone since I’ve been here,” the Georgia Military College student said. “I’ve written two letters and gotten one letter back. That’s been my communication.”

Floyd’s parents live in Germany, which is six hours ahead of Fort Knox, making communication difficult for the LTC Cadet. His father recently retired from the Army and is there as a contractor. Floyd was born in Virginia, moved to Germany for three years, moved back to the United States for about six years and then moved back to Germany for the last nine years.

As he nears the end of LTC, he looks forward to reuniting with his family.

Charlie Company Cadet Trenton Floyd maneuvers the over-under objective on the obstacle course with last week. Photo by Heather Cortright/LTC PAO

“I just think about going back to see them again, and I just know there’s an end point to this,” said Floyd, whose company graduates Saturday. “It sort of feels like I’m distant because I don’t really know that many people, except for the people I met here.”

During in-processing, Floyd tried to set up a phone number and a phone but was not successful.

When mail is passed out, Floyd watches as his fellow Cadets receive mail, but not him. The last letter he sent was July 4, and he still hasn’t gotten one back.

“It makes me a little sad and that’s usually the time I take to think about what I’m going to write, asking people for stamps so I can send more letters out,” he said.

Another Cadet in his platoon is quite the opposite when it comes to communication.

“I get a lot of letters because my mom sends letters all the time,” said Charlie Company Cadet Aaron Gunn, of Wentworth Military College. “My girlfriend and her family, we are very close so they send letters. It’s the type of situation that even if I don’t write because I’m busy around here, I still get letters from them. They just want to make sure I’m still doing well and that I have something to look forward to.”

Gunn, who has gotten more than 20 letters, said that when the Cadets get mail, it’s a big deal to them, especially because they didn’t have access to phones for a portion of LTC.

“We all look forward to that time when we can call whoever we want, or just send a text,” he said. “For me, it is very helpful to communicate like that.”

Any communication at all is key for these Cadets to stay motivated throughout their time at LTC.

“You don’t have a lot of time here, but when you get the chance write a letter,” Gunn said. “Even if you don’t get one back, it’ll help you think that one of these days you’re going to get a letter back. You’re going to get that reply.”

Although his communication isn’t as much as he would like, Floyd said his family motivates him to finish LTC strong.
At the end of the summer, he will be going back to Germany for about a month before attending college — Georgia Military is a military junior college.

Not being able to call his family has been more difficult than Floyd expected.

“I thought I’d be able to contact my parents maybe once a week and get caught up on things, but it didn’t work out that way,” he said. “As long as I stay motivated and keep a good spirit about everything, I think that I can get through it.”

Floyd said being away from his family will help prepare him for a military career.

“I miss them, but I’m pushing through and I’m going to get some good training out of this,” he said. “I need to get ready for my life for when I am away from my family so it’s good practice.”

Charlie Cadet LeQuell Allen, of Mississippi State University, takes cover and aims during his squad's successful assault of a bunker during the squad tactical exercise. Photo by Heather Cortright/LTC PAO

By Sara Nahrwold
Staff writer

]]> http://leadertrainingcourse.com/2011/07/20/cadets-combine-skills-learned-for-final-training/feed/ 0 http://leadertrainingcourse.com/2011/07/20/ops-center-keeps-watchful-eye-on-ltc-2/ http://leadertrainingcourse.com/2011/07/20/ops-center-keeps-watchful-eye-on-ltc-2/#comments Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:28:53 +0000 PAO http://leadertrainingcourse.com/?p=4328 Continue reading →]]>

Second Lt. Jonathan Hudson, a member of the LTC tactical operations center, talks with other TOC members. Two TVs in the center are constantly project weather information, and a slide is projected showing the current training status for each company at the course. Photo by Bobby Ellis/LTC PAO

By Noelle Wiehe
Staff writer 

Whether it is a Cadet dropping the course, lighting striking near Fort Knox or a heat casualty on a training site, the crew manning the tactical operations center is dedicated to informing and protecting everyone involved in the Leader’s Training Course.

The TOC, as it’s called, is a 24-hour operation that serves as the course’s nerve center. Those who work there must know at all times where Cadets are training, when they are on the move and what might hamper their planned activity.

Second Lt. Matt Holstege, a lieutenant assigned to the TOC, is new to Fort Knox and has his own method of staying alert during his night shifts.

“I rely on 5-Hour Energy,” he said.

Holstege and Sgt. 1st Class Terrence Coel, an NCO assigned to the center, worked the night shift earlier last week. They spent part of their time summarizing the day and receiving check-in calls from companies as they occupied training sites.

Holstege described the operations center as the “information nerve center for all of LTC.” Officers and Soldiers are assigned to monitor weather, check e-mails, write and proof incident reports, monitor the extensive Nextel phone system and, occasionally, field phone calls from families of Cadets through the LTC hotline.

There is also a flat-screen TV in the TOC, but those who work there aren’t watching their favorite shows. Instead, the TV is constantly tuned to news channels, in the rare case a world event might affect those on post.

While most nights can be slow, that can change if an incident unfolds. Information must quickly be relayed to course leadership, a report written and reviewed. They might include heat injuries or something that requires a Cadet to visit the hospital.

With Kentucky’s volatile summer weather, one of the key roles for the TOC is to watch the ever-developing weather patterns throughout the day. That can pose unique challenges, particularly in an area where feisty, humidity-fed storms can pop up in a matter of moments.

Soldiers were monitoring the weather maps one afternoon last week when a thunderstorm rolled in.

Earlier that day, at 7 a.m. it was already 81 degrees and nearly 90 by noon. At such times, site check-in calls are more critical than cadre merely calling to report a site being occupied.

“They’ll call in and give us their numbers of Cadets on hand, and we’ll match it to our numbers,” Holstege said. “If there is some big discrepancy, we’ll call the companies.”

Capt. Pedro Martinez, the TOC battle captain, has helped the center get more organized by setting up constantly updated training status slides that project on the room’s front wall, coming up with a standard operating procedure for incident reports and devising the emergency maps that overlay a route onto main post maps should certain events such as a tornado occur.

“The command had specific guidance on what they would like to see and how the TOC was supposed to operate,” Martinez said. “I just took their basic guidelines and implemented my experience.”

Martinez developed his knack for TOC operations by working at a company-level center as part of its primary staff.

“I picked up on certain things, such as what is reportable and the expectations of the commanders,” he said. “Being flexible and being able to adapt has been a key attribute this summer because there is a lot of input and a lot of ideas.”

It was important to Martinez that the notification processes be simplified and checklists be used at all times to ensure the safety of Soldiers and Cadets at training sites.

“Everything that we are doing now, he implemented from scratch,” Coel said. “Basically how the TOC runs now, he’s seen it from the ground up.”

Keeping tabs on all the LTC goings-on, the operations center serves a vital purpose in th eyes of Fort Knox. Without it, the center’s tasks would have to be parceled out to various post directorates. With a dedicated TOC, it also is easier for commanders to find information in a central location.

With a team of six lieutenants, three NCOs, one first lieutenant, a civilian and Martinez, each brings unique talents to keep the opeation functioning smoothly.

“The whole concept of the TOC, all of the personnel we have, it is a lot of teamwork,” Coel said. “We’ve got a good group.”

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By Noelle Wiehe
Staff writer

Being liaison officer for the Leader’s Training Course requires Lt. Col. Kurt Robinson to keep up with parents, training statistics and other information pertinent to Cadets in training — all while trying to keep up on his own students back home as the professor of military science at the University of Houston.

But it hasn’t stopped him from taking up a hobby while at Fort Knox.

“I kind of picked up triathlons,” he said.

Lt. Col. Kurt Robinson rides his bike recently on Fort Knox. Robinson has been in the Army for 23 years and uses triathlons to keep in shape. He mostly competes in sprint triathlons. "I don't want to hurt myself by doing an Iron Man," Robinson said, when asked about his reasoning for doing certain distances. Photo by Bobby Ellis/LTC PAO

Robinson, a husband and a father of three, has worked at LTC for five years. He spent three as inspector general, one as the supply chief and this year in his current role. His kids all understand how busy their father is, but they still keep him in their thoughts.

“Leaving for the second day of the (baseball) tournament,” Robinson’s son, Grant, recently posted to Facebook. “Wish my dad could be here to watch me play, but I understand he’s got work to do! Love you, Dad!”

Robinson tries his best to keep his family close. He actually got the idea for triathlons from his sister-in-law.

“Being in the Army, it wasn’t unusual for me to go running with her,” he said.

There are three different types of marathons, the most extreme being the Iron Man. The others are the Olympic and, the sprint triathlon, in which Robinson participates.

“I do it, not so much for the competition,” Robinson said. “It’s a reason to get out of bed as opposed to going to a donut shop.”

The sprint triathlon consists of a 3,500-meter swim, a 12-mile bike ride and a three-mile run. Robinson generally participates in about four a year. In just the past two years, he has done seven and is looking forward to doing another in October.

Having swum since age 8 and through high school, Robinson prefers to ride his bicycle a few miles in the mornings, as opposed to running to train. While on-post, he has to use a stationary bike when there isn’t time for a real bike ride.

“Eight miles on a stationary bike is just ugly, whereas a 12- to 16-mile ride around Fort Knox at least has scenery to look at,” he said. “You just have to hope you don’t get a flat.”

He enjoys riding his bike at his home in Katy, Texas, more than anywhere else, he says, because there are no hills. His 11-year-old son will occasionally ride his bike alongside Robinson as he runs in the mornings as well.

Robinson’s most recent triathlon was the Buckhead Border Challenge in Jeffersonville, Ind., July 10. But at the event, he experienced his first-ever mechanical problem during the bike portion of the race and got a flat tire.

Only participating for the experience of it rather than for the rivalry and bragging rights, Robinson doesn’t change up his diet much before the races, other than avoiding fast food.

“I’ll hydrate more, but I don’t necessarily pay too much attention to what I eat,” he said. “I’m not a big nutritionist.”

On-post, he lives in barracks with other cadre members and his cooking skills are limited, seeing as there is really only a microwave to cook in. So he wind up eating out more than he’d like.

In his LTC office, Robinson sends reports to various Cadet Command agencies seven days a week and takes “crazy late night calls” from parents and schools, he said. He is in charge of keeping direct contact with all four companies at the course.

When he completes his summer mission, Robinson will return to the University of Houston for one year before he retires. He anticipates having a month off before he has to go back to work. In those days off, he said he might pick up a few other hobbies he hasn’t gotten to do much.

“Probably go fishing and target-shooting,” Robinson said.

Cadet Stephanie Raborn had a hard time when she first came to the Leader’s Training Course. She admits her upper-body strength wasn’t exactly up to par.

But since drill sergeants have been making her do push-ups, things have started to look up.

Standing hidden among a growth of trees, Raborn explained the tactics she used to complete the wooden jungle gym of sorts that is the Leader’s Training Course obstacle course.

The Charlie Company Cadet from Wentworth Military Academy pulled herself over logs, climbed ropes, scooted over hurdles and crawled through dirt.

“It’s something a lot of people here need to work on,” Raborn said of the physical endurance it takes to complete the obstacle course. “I know I need to work on it.”

Charlie Company Cadets work their way through the over-under obstacle at the LTC obstacle course. Photo by Heather Cortright/LTC PAO

Obstacle courses are something Cadets will continue to encounter throughout their Army career.

“Most of the obstacles you see here are the same obstacles that are in obstacle courses at military establishments all over the country,” said Lt. Col. Sean Ryan, the company tactical officer for Delta Company.

Perhaps the most difficult obstacle for many Cadets is the pyramid – which Raborn called “stairway to heaven” – where they weave their way through wooden boards. Facing sideways, the Cadets must maneuver their way over a board, then under the next while working up and back down an incline. Like many of the other obstacles, it takes a measure of upper-body strength along with leg and abdomen strength.

“With this one, you use everything you have,” Cadet Jamal Jenkins said.

The Delta Cadet from Marion Military Institute said that, like Raborn, his time at LTC has prepared him for the strength he needed to complete the obstacle course.

“If we hadn’t gotten those skills, we would never have been able to complete this,” he said.

Charlie Cadet Zach Larson from New Mexico Military Institute said that even though the drill sergeants and Cadre told them the activity would be easier than the others they have encountered, the obstacle course was extremely challenging.

“We aren’t used to going through obstacle courses all day long or doing push-ups all day long,” he said. “Don’t come here if you’re weak-minded. It’s a challenge.”

Physical fitness is only one benefit to the obstacle course. The activity also benefits Cadets’ confidence and team-building skills, Ryan said.

“We go through as squads, so you cheer on your buddy,” Ryan said. They learn “that ability to work as a team, make sure everybody gets over and make the squads go through each obstacle together before they move on to the next one.”

Larson said watching his fellow Cadets complete the obstacles was helpful.

“When you’re faced with a tough challenge, you can look at everyone around and think if they can do it, I can do it,” he said. “And you just keep on going.”

Raborn said motivation from her peers was the key to completing the obstacle course.

“My platoon was called the cheerleading platoon for a while,” she said. “You hear someone yell out, and it makes you move faster and gives you a little extra strength to finish. You need that here at LTC.”

 

Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Green Sr. speaks to Delta Company Cadets. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Noelle Wiehe
Staff writer

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