The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

SIUC's Army ROTC completes field-training exercises

M-16 gunshots cracked in the air, while dust clouds formed behind the freshly hit cardboard targets, which were lined up at the front of an eroded hill.

SIUC's Army ROTC conducted their annual fall field training exercises this weekend at University Farms. The day and night training consisted of teaching basic rifle marksmanship, learning how to navigate through the woods and testing leadership skills on a reaction course.

Training began Friday night with a march starting at Kesner Hall and ending at University Farms. Cadets also set up a campsite and signed papers that committed them to the Army.

Other classes were set up around the training site to teach the cadets how to properly align the sight on their weapons, to load and discharge guns and to squeeze the triggers in smooth motions. The classes culminated with a M-16 qualification given by the instructors. To qualify, a cadet had to hit 40 out of 40 targets.

"We just started the training less than an hour ago, and some of them can already disassemble the weapon in less than 30 seconds," Master Sgt. Larry Chambers said.

Chambers said the goal for the cadets is to be able to disassemble and reassemble the rifles in fewer than 45 seconds.

"This is the first time most of these cadets have seen this weapon," Chambers said. "They're doing very well. They've exceeded my expectations."

During the land navigation expedition, a map, compass and a protractor were the only instruments the cadets could use to find their way to specific points placed around the woods. The day's goal was to find five out of five designated points, and at night, three out of five points were required to pass the test.

The last event, which was a field leadership reaction course, took place Sunday morning. Squads of nine cadets were designated a leader and also given a mission to complete. After being briefed on the situation, the squad must come up with a plan and carry it out. Leaders were evaluated the entire time on how well they directed their respective squad.

"It's not about if they complete their mission," Jeremy Glenz, a senior cadet in aviation management, said. "It's about how the leader takes command and doesn't let other people lead it for him. It's all about the process not the end result."

Maj. Steve Kendall said he was impressed with all of the cadets and their actions.

"The cadets are doing great," Kendall said. "They're keeping a positive mental attitude and they're working hard."

Glenz said the ROTC has personally benefited him in many ways including discipline, military bearing and improving his interview skills.

"It's a great program to not only meet people, but to get lessons in discipline and leadership especially," Glenz said.

 

 

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