LTC, pt 2

(... fyi, I'm taking some of the info from their blog, since they were there and know what they were doing better than me)

Squad Tactics

Cadets trained in squad tactics to get a feel for real combat experience.  They hiked through woods, water and mud.  They "learned to low-crawl, high-crawl and rush as though hiding from enemies and live rounds being fired at them during combat" on a dirt field.  Danny talked about how they were basically swimming in muddy trenches and were actually told to get dirty to help blend into their surroundings ... he also said he did laundry nearly every other night, lol.

... good clean fun, no? ;)

Where Eagles Dare

This is what they called the high ropes course, complete with various types of rope bridges, climbing walls, obstacles, and an alpine tower with a zipline at the end.  The course peaked at a height of thirty-five feet in the air with nothing but a harness for support in case you slipped.  ... there's a reason I'd never join the army.  :P  Danny talked about it being hard at times, but with the motivation of all his fellow cadets and the satisfied feeling after completing it, he said it was pretty fun.  (...um sure, lol).

(these people are crazy! that does NOT look structurally sound enough to climb, lol)

Team Development Course

A big part of army training and LTC is learning how to work together as a team.  "Using each other's strengths to work in teams, Cadets were put in leadership positions to guide their teams in completing five events at the TDC ... the goal of one of the events was to get the team over a wall, along with a can of ammunition, rope and a wooden board."  I'm not exactly sure what the other events were but they seemed to involve getting over high walls, going through pipes, carrying dummies like a wounded soldier, making impromptu plank bridges, etc.

Rappel Tower

They also trained at the fifty-one-foot rappel tower to learn how to rappel.  They had to "go down the side of the tower with the wall and also the side without one, known as the skid".  They also learned how to tie their own harnesses and proper technique, as well as motivating their fellow teammates to help everyone get through their fear of heights.

... the Army has a flair for dramatics, supposedly... they only did the purple smoke for the demonstration.

Weapons Training

Cadets spent time in the classroom learning and studying things like regulations, tactics, navigation, and about firearms, like the different parts of a rifle, how to take tem apart and put them together, the ammo, how to clean them and how to shoot.

Leader's Training Course (LTC), pt 1

I finally got together all of the pictures from Danny's time at LTC.  It'll mostly be pictures with some captions from the blog that LTC posted, since Danny doesn't really care to say anything (I may be able to convince him to add captions later, we'll see).  Also, he's not actually in a lot of these pictures.  Danny was in Alpha Company (out of four companies total), which had 198 cadets; Third Platoon (four platoons per company), about 50 cadets; and Fourth Squad (five squads per platoon), about 10 cadets.  For some events, platoons switched off days, so the photographer (each company had one) could only be with one platoon at a time (and he tended to favor first and fourth platoon).  So, I put all of the pictures with Danny I could, but the rest I'm posting to get a better idea of all that Danny did this summer.

ARRIVAL

Danny left for Ft. Knox on Sunday, June 12 ... at 4:00 am.  ugh.  driving him to the airport early in the morning in the dark through Austin's crazy construction-filled highways that I'd never been on before while being really anxious at him leaving for so long already made for an un-fun morning, to say the least... didn't help that on my way back I nearly ran over a porcupine in the middle of the road at the highway intersection.  Anyway, aside from my adventures, Danny got there safely and they got right to work, spending the first day getting yelled at orders from the drill sergeants who were waiting for them as they got off the buses, as well as getting signed in and getting all their stuff together.

In-Processing

The next day was spent getting records together, getting IDs, filling out paperwork, getting barracks assignments, and learning what they would be learning and doing for the next month.

Physical Training and First PT Test

They also had their first PT (Physical Training ... the army loves acronyms, lol) test, to gauge were everyone was and were they need to be.  The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) test consists of a timed two-mile run, two minutes of sit-ups, and two minutes of push-ups.  The also started working on exercises for the new fitness training, the physical readiness training (PRT) which will consist of a 60-yard shuttle run, a one-minute rower, a standing long-jump, a one-minute push-up, and a 1.5 mile run.  Each day at LTC was spent working on their physical fitness with a variety of intense exercises.

CIF

(... okay, I'll be honest, I couldn't figure out what CIF stands for, that's just what they called this segment and Danny is front and center in one of the pictures -- I think he told me he was like squad leader or something that day, that's why he was in the front -- and it looks like they're getting issued more supplies and gear, and I think getting measured for their uniforms or maybe for their physical... well, whatever they are doing, here's a few more pics)

Guidon Ceremony

(... again, sorry but I don't actually know what this is, they didn't mention it in their blog... just looks like marching around in their ACUs [Army Combat Uniform] and standing in formation, but whatever, more pictures! ... and I really did cut back on the pictures they posted, honest...)