Northeastern Army ROTC joined with their fellow cadets from other universities in Boston at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod this weekend for their annual Fall Training Camp (FTX).
Northeastern, Boston University, Boston College and MIT make up the majority of the ROTC. A few students also join the group from Wentworth Institute, Suffolk University, Simmons College, Emerson College and the Berklee School of Music.
The FTX training takes place every fall, engaging cadets in leadership activities that test both mind and body.
“Our goal is to teach people to become leaders rather than followers,” said Major Nina Reyes-Richard.
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The three platoons, each consisting of between 20 and 30 students, march to the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC) where most of the day’s events would take place. The march was a 700- meter distance (roughly a half-mile).
Training at the LRC, obstacle course and repelling stations were scheduled to begin after attendance was taken and the platoons were briefed.
If the cadets had extra time between training sessions, they broke into subgroups for what is known as “hip-pocket” classes. The name hip-pocket originated years ago when soldiers used to carry a field task manual in their waste pockets.
One class taught cadets how to evaluate a casualty.
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The three platoons were sent to either the repelling station with a 40-foot and a 70-foot repel tower, to the obstacle course where both mind and body were tested and finally to the actual LRC, a team building and leadership problem solving course with different scenarios and equipment.
Tasks usually involved not only thinking of a way to get the team across an obstacle – either water, a swinging mechanism or chains – but also making sure that either an ammunition box or oil drum was transported safely to the other side as well.
“Every time [the cadets] touch the red, marked-off area they get a 10-second penalty,” said Second Lieutenant Chris Dattami.
Meanwhile, another platoon was practicing their rappel and belaying techniques further into the woods of Camp Edwards.
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Groups met at Landing Zone Liberty, awaiting the arrival of the UH60 (known as the “Blackhawk”) and the UH1. Each of the helicopters could reach between 200 and 220 mph.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” said MS-2 Cadet Erin Baker, a sophomore speech pathology major.
Baker has been a member of the Army ROTC program for almost a year. It was her second time at Camp Edwards.
“I love it so far, [it is] such a great experience,” Baker said.
Eight to 10 cadets boarded the Blackhawk and the UH1 after hearing a second safety briefing. The helicopters then took off into the air for a short ride.
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The air operations were complete and for the rest of the afternoon, platoons got a chance to try each of the other courses at Camp Edwards.
Some students had an entire night of events planned for them.
“The juniors are doing land navigation tonight,” said MS-4 Non-Commissioned Officer Brian Bourque, a senior photography and graphic design major.
1900 Engagement Skills Training (EST) was also rotated into the mix so that each cadet was given the chance to experience some artillery training. The EST was a simulation and each of the cadets was armed with an “M-16” (replicas used for the demo) to fire on a video screen.
Operation orders were given to a team of cadets to provide cover fire for a team entering a hostile environment. The cadets had to be careful to follow the team leader’s orders.
“I like the hands-on training with other college cadets,” Nick Fox said, a junior at Boston College. “You move up in the ladder still with the responsibilities from before. That’s very important in how to become a leader. It makes you smile.”
