ROTC camp to prepare junior cadets
Lt. Col. David Manville said he is fired up about the ROTC Field Training Exercise taking place Friday through Sunday.
“I doubt that any ROTC in the nation is delivering such a highquality event as we are going to execute this weekend,” he said. “It is the most complex exercise we have ever tried to do.”
Manville said this is the first major training exercise of the year, which promises to be packed full of high quality training and challenging leadership development activities.
“The session is also a significant team-building event and is the first time the cadets will execute a major operation as a unit,” Manville said.
The senior ROTC members will command and control the event and will also provide instruction for the underclassmen.
“The juniors are working on complex tasks in leading small-unit actions while the freshman and sophomores will work on individual skills and also get team-work training,” Manville said.
Amber Lohmann said this year’s training exercise will better prepare her as well as other junior cadets for the National Advance Leadership Course taking place this summer.
“The camp is what we have to go to, to be commissioned as officers,” the Niles junior said.
Manville said participation is up to 120 participants from last year’s 45.
“We have over twice as many folks taking part in this Field Training Exercise than the one we executed last fall because of how good it promises to be,” he said.
Manville said the training session has a more realistic feel this year, with the additions of pyrotechnics and paint-balls.
The units also will be inserted into the exercise at Deerfield Park via a Blackhawk helicopter.
“From there they will perform a tactical mission of patrolling to locating the enemy target and then collect information on that target,” Manville said.
This is the first time students have been inserted into a field training by helicopters.
“I think it’s a really cool idea that we were able to use the Blackhawks,” Lohmann said. “It’s an experience not many people get to experience unless they are involved in a program like ROTC.”
