Bethel's NJROTC Experiences Basic Training at West Point

At 1600 hours -military time for 4 p.m.- on Thursday, Sept. 22, 67 NJROTC  cadets board the buses for their four day commitment to Camp Natural Bridge in West Point, N.Y. for Basic Leadership Training.

As the last minutes of the bus ride grew closer, the cadets were told to “lock it up” as they sat at the position of attention with apprehension. In this way cadet aides prepped the cadets for what they should be expecting: suddenly the bus came to a halt and the Drill Instructors barked at the cadets to get in formation outside with their gear. As soon as every freshman stepped off the bus everyone is expected to be locked on, motivated, and giving it their all till the final dismissal by their drill instructors during the graduation ceremony. All attending cadet aids and DI's were instructed to lead the cadets through PT (physical training), marching, obstacle courses, and being prepared and ready in the barracks.

At 0500 sharp, cadet aides ran into the barracks screaming hoarsely, slamming the lockers in order to wake up the cadets. The cadets had about  ten seconds to put on their shoes and get on line at the position of attention. After hygiene, the first activity of the day, the cadets and their aides participate in morning PT then head for chow. Between sleep and meals the day had a series of physical activity going on. It is a mix between PT, double timing (running) from point A to point B, self defense training, marching, and going on the obstacle courses. The physical part of BLT is strenuous, but very rewarding. The cadets did an excellent job at giving it their personal best, which is all that we ask from them. Even though there was a plethora of physical activity, we have never had a severe injury in BLT due to our number one priority being safety.

The confidence courses were probably the best in BLT. The cadets all loved it and learned how to motivate others and show some leadership and perseverance. They worked as a team and as equals. A lot of cadets proved to themselves that they could overcome obstacles that they never imagined pulling off. There were cadets who got the obstacle down on the first try, and some that had to try multiple times before they got it right. Every cadet made it through each one, and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives. They can look back on BLT and say, “Hey, this was hard. But I tried and tried until I got it right. If I could do that then as a freshman, then I know I can do it now as a matured adult.” The obstacle courses demonstrated the value of teamwork. There were shorter cadets that could not jump high enough to hop over the wall, but their platoon mates helped push them up. There were cadets with who had a hard time on the tall balance beams, but their Drill Instructors were there to help them through. There were cadets who were not small enough to crawl unter the barbed wires, but there Drill Instructors held up the wires just enough so they could make it. All this team work bonded the platoon; it created friendships, developed self esteem, and an opportunity to show the leader inside each of the cadets.

What had also enforced teamwork was barracks time. In the barracks cadets were either changing into their PT gear or khaki uniform, getting prepared for hygiene, listening to their aides about what they need to get done when they fall out or certain issues concerning the cadets, and of course, sleep. If a cadet was done preparing or changing, it was expected that they would help their battle buddies/bunk mates out with what they needed to get done. At night, while a majority of the cadets slept, two cadets  walked up and down their barrack on firewatch to make sure every cadet was safe. On Saturday night it was fourth platoon's job for firewatch, and one of the cadets who was scheduled for firewatch hurt her ankle. One of her battle buddies had to fill in for her even though she had already gone the night before. That was teamwork. This proved to the platoon aides that she had learned a thing or two about working as a team and making sacrifices to get the job done, and if she could do this then it gave the aides hope that any of their cadets could.

The volunteers were a huge part of Basic Leadership Training. Next to the dedicated booster club parents who volunteered to come up to West Point with the unit to prepare our daily three meals and took care of all our financial and administrative work; the very dedicated drill instructors,  the platoon, admin, and medical aides were also there to make everything run smoothly. These aides paid to sacrifice sleep and schoolwork to voluntarily guide these cadets to a successful graduation, all to make sure the cadets were squared away for the next day. Without the help from the volunteers, Basic Leadership Training would not have been as successful as it has been for the past eleven years.