The U.S. Military Academy started its Cadet Summer Training at Camp Buckner and Camp Natural Bridge in late May.
Cadet Summer Training consists of a variety of training events to educate, train and inspire future leaders with the help of Task Force Leader, which is the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasans,” 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, that started in May and goes through August.
Training that falls under CST includes Cadet Basic Training, Cadet Field Training and Cadet Leader Development Training. Each training has a significant role that leads cadets toward being a part of the “Long Gray Line.”
Cadet Field Training Command Sgt. Maj. Corrigan Railey, a rising firstie at USMA, says that summer training is key to creating character for future leaders.
“It all starts with CBT, also known as ‘Beast,’” Railey said.
This training is about 1,200 high school graduates and prior-service Soldiers entrance to West Point. From the beginning of Reception Day, it is a six-week training consisting of academic briefs and rigorous testing to prepare the new cadets on the West Point culture.
The new cadets then develop their basic Soldier tasks. They learn basic marksmanship, land navigation, patrol bases and other additional skills during Beast.
Cadets, once they complete CBT, begin their academic school year as Plebes.
“After cadets finish their freshman academic year, they go into CFT,” Railey said.
Cadet Field Training is where the third-year cadets, “Yearlings,” refresh on what they learned during Beast. They also complete their Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) A requirements.
Cadets will complete a Water Confidence Course, Marne Obstacle Course, marksmanship qualifications, Night Vision familiarization and more.
Railey states the completion of CFT will allow the cadets to become Yearlings and leaders in the fall. The following summer cadets will also begin their CLDT.
Cadet Leader Development Training is a culminating event of all the summer trainings. It is 20 days of training, broken down into 10 days of preparation and 10 days of field training exercise, or FTX. The FTX will consist of ambushes, raids, defenses and more at the platoon level.
With multiple trainings taking place, the Rakkasans came to West Point to help train these future leaders and give them the personal experience needed toward becoming officers.
“I’m hoping the (cadets) came out here and retained all the knowledge that we had given them,” said Sgt. Michael Tinsley, an Infantry Team Leader with 1-187. “They are our future leaders. The tactics we are teaching them they can take and communicate with non-commissioned officers to make the future fight easier.”
This training does not just teach cadets how to be leaders, it also teaches them how to work as a team.
“We teach these cadets, then allow them to conduct a training mission on their own,” Tinsley said. “It gives them the opportunity to trust what they have learned and trust one another to communicate and work as a team.”
Railey agreed with Tinsleyʼs assessment, which allows cadets to grow in their skills as future officers.
“You are not with the people you are usually with during the school year,” Railey said. “They take you out of your comfort zone and push you to new heights. Like making new friends, becoming a leader and rappelling out of a helicopter.”
Cadets are pushing themselves to be the best they can be.
“The morale is good out here,” Tinsley said. “They are eager to learn and push themselves to be better, to be great leaders in the future.”