This weekend was eventful and busy! Thursday September 24th was the start of our fall FTX weekend. Thursday, we kicked off the night with a Land Navigation test for all the MSI-III’s. Once the cadets were done with their tests, they went into a Preliminary Marksmanship Instruction (PMI) class taught by one of our newest cadre members Master Sergeant Wasierski to close the night.
On Friday the cadets started the day at the Engagement Skills Training (EST) which is designed to simulate shooting on the actual range. Everyone loves EST because it’s a shooting video game where cadets can learn the fundamentals of basic marksmanship. This is a crucial step in learning to properly shoot a rifle and be prepared for camp. After the cadets finished EST it was time to move on to the main event of land navigation. This was completed by everyone. The MSI Cadets was paired with a group of MSII’s so that they could teach each other and learn from each other and ultimately practice their land navigation skills. This course was not a self-correcting course which made the Cadets use the methods of clover leafing, as well as terrain association to determine where their points were. Once day land navigation was completed it was time to acquire new points for (everyone’s favorite) night land navigation. The success of the night was everyone found the points they needed to, and no one was hurt or lost.
Saturday was filled with even more fun events to excel in. We started the day off with the MSIII Cadets zeroing and qualifying while the MSI-II Cadets completed the hand grenade assault course as well as learned the fundamentals of Battle Drill 1A. The MSIII class conducted training on table IV, V and VI. These tables include zeroing, practice, and qualification. If Cadets complete the practice round (V) with expert, they are considered qualified because table V is designed to be harder than table VI. If they don’t qualify with expert in table V they must complete and qualify table VI. Once the morning of shooting and battle drills was complete the Cadets finished off the evening with the Field Leadership Reaction Course (FLRC) to test their leadership skills and teamwork.
Sunday was by far the most fearful event for many Cadets, the rappel tower. This event is a must complete at Cadet Summer Training (CST) which is why we include it in our training. There was a slant wall Cadets completed before they were able to rappel down the 34-foot tower at Camp Ripley. This was one of the most rewarding events for Cadets who have a fear of heights. That was a great note to end on because all Cadets completed the rappel tower. By the end of FTX Cadets left feeling exhausted and accomplished.
