Northeastern student Daniel Oesterheld was presented with the Association of the United States Army Leadership Excellence Award after successfully completing the U.S. Army’s Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) and ranking No. 1 among 490 Army Cadets in his regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

The 29-day course, also called Operation Warrior Forge, is the capstone training and assessment exercise for Army ROTC Cadets, where their future branch position and posting in the Army is essentially determined. Cadets are tested on everything from their physical stamina and endurance to their ability to navigate over difficult terrain as well as their team-building and leadership skills.

Oesterheld was grateful for the honor, but remained supportive of his fellow cadets.

“It feels good, I won’t lie – it’s that accomplishment,” he said. “But there are other people who really deserve it just as well as me.”

Oesterheld received an Army saber to signify the award at a graduation ceremony in late July.

Recruiting Operations Officer at Northeastern, Major Michael Bowles, said Oesterheld’s award was well deserved and not a surprise to the Liberty Battalion, the Army ROTC for Boston hosted at Northeastern.

“He is a hard worker who achieves results, with limited supervision, and the cadre members within the program can always count on him to accomplish the mission with a positive attitude,” he said.

Bowles said Oesterheld is a strong mentor to other Cadets within the program and that he spends countless hours of personal time assisting and developing superiors, peers and subordinates. For this, he was selected for a top leadership position in his unit.

“His tactical and technical knowledge, coupled with his personality, empathy and ability to communicate made him the only choice for the newly created Cadet Command Sergeant Major position in the fall of 2010,” Bowles said.

Oesterheld’s primary responsibility was to be a role model for new Cadets, making them feel like part of the program while developing them physically, mentally and emotionally.

“He took the position seriously and due to his hard work and dedication, the Liberty Battalion has a much improved freshmen and sophomore class throughout the program,” Bowles said.

While training at Warrior Forge is somewhat of a refresher, the purpose is to evaluate tactical and garrison knowledge learned during the previous three years of ROTC.

“Basically everything that you’ve been doing throughout ROTC for the past three years culminates in those 29 days,” Oesterheld said.

He said throughout the course, there are six graded leadership opportunities, including two garrison evaluations, two field evaluations and two patrol evaluations. Cadets rotate through such positions as squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader, first sergeant, executive officer and company commander, where they are responsible for completing specific tasks depending on their title.

A Cadet’s LDAC experience revolves around these evaluations, for which they receive grades of E (exceeds the standard), S (satisfies the standard) or N (needs improvement) for 17 “Dimensions of Leadership,” which make up the overall grade for each position. After completing LDAC, Cadets receive a final grade generated from each of these evaluations as well as other components including a land navigation score, a physical training score and a TAC evaluation.

“Little evaluations throughout the month go into an overall score and then from that you get ranked against everyone in your regiment,” Oesterheld said.

This score, he said, is combined with everything done during ROTC training and entered into an algorithm that helps determine where Cadets are placed in the Army.

“Everything you do at the camp and at school – the better your GPA, the more physically fit you are, etc. – all go in to help determine the branch you get,” Oesterheld said. “Those scores determine what you get for your job. The better you do academically – even before you go to camp – that weights a great deal on what you get.”

All those scores are tallied together and the Leadership Excellence Award goes to those with the best score in each regiment. Oesterheld said about 14 Cadets in total will receive the award by the end of the camp, which only holds sessions during the summer.

Each Cadet’s score is compared nationally against others in the same ranking, all of whom completed LDAC. This is the ranking that matters most when it comes down to placement.

“If I make the top 10 percent, I’m guaranteed my first choice branch,” Oesterheld said.

A senior criminal justice major, Oesterheld will make his final branch choice in September, well before graduation. He said aviation and infantry are his top two and depending on which he chooses, he will go to the respective basic course after graduating.

His ranking also gives him an advantage when selecting posting preferences. He said he would like to be posted in Italy, but that those spots are competitive.

“We have no doubt that, like everything else he has done, he will be successful and continue to develop the leadership ability within himself and others,” Bowles said. “More importantly, as an Army Second Lieutenant, Dan will be a tremendous asset to his unit and soldiers.”

Besides an advantageous ranking, Oesterheld took home valuable experience, emphasizing the fortitude and resilience of a team-based mindset.

“The most important thing I took away from my experience at LDAC is the importance of trust in your teammates. As a leader you cannot personally handle every situation, your job is to delegate those tasks – otherwise you become overwhelmed and will lack the situational awareness necessary to accomplish the mission,” he said. “When team members know their specific role and do that job, it’s amazing what a team can achieve.”