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Black Hawk up
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Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets from the Treasure Valley and other military personelle arrived in Boise to prepare for a weekend in the mountains, full of land navigation training and battle scenarios.
Cadets flew to Idaho City in Black Hawk helicopters. Cadets ran opportunity drills during the wait time. Opportunity drills are performed during any downtime and include squad drills and checks for injured persons.
“These are tactics that have been used for a while, Vietnam tactics don’t work as well in Iraq and Afghanistan but they are still very effective, good to learn and bring on good leadership skills,” ROTC Cadet Byrne said.
A total of 42 cadets and a handful of other military personnel were present for the training.
“Seems like the program has really been growing,” Byrne said. “Two years ago there were only about 25 (cadets), now there are around 62 in the program.”
Wind whipped and whirled around all who stood within the area as the Black Hawks landed. Hats had to be removed or were lost. Dust swirled in every direction and the green, grassy landing pad was flattened.
Cadets prepared to board the transports, crouching down and at the ready for when they were given the signal to board. It gave a sense as though it was an actual mission.
“No one has ever landed before in the old penitentiary, even when it was in use, so this is pretty cool,” ROTC Captain Castillo said. He also said these training exercises were performed the same way when he was in ROTC ten years ago.
The cadets boarded the Black Hawks and quickly strapped themselves in to their seats. The helicopter lifted off at a rapid speed. The flight to the training site took just a few minutes. Segments of the trip were akin to a roller coaster ride. The pilots performed dips and dives, causing the stomach to flutter at the sensation. The helicopters climbed to higher altitudes, banking side to side, offering a bird’s-eye view of the area as well as the morning sun rising over the mountains.
After landing, cadets were bused close to the site they would set up base. The moment they unloaded from the bus, the cadets performed a tactical maneuver: They set up a 360-degree perimeter. Each cadet had a sector of the circle, so that if they were armed, the line of sight from each sector would cross over every sight vector, completing the circle and eliminating blind spots.
After this maneuver, all cadets then formed a perimeter on the road where they proceeded to travel a short distance to base camp. This march is taken with a backpack, referred to as a “rucksack.” Rucksacks weigh 45-to-50 pounds. The load-bearing equipment weighs around 20 pounds, MS-3 Bradfield, a junior at BSU, said.
The cadets marched in intervals on both sides of the road, well-spaced as if in a real situation. Should a grenade or mortar go off, the cadets would not be one big, easy target. A silence was created during the march.
“Keeping noise discipline is key, especially for . if going through enemy territory,” said Cadet Nathan Papke, a BSU student majoring in computer science.
Cadets proceeded to their day land navigation course. This challenge was for cadets to find certain sets of points on a map, go out into the wilderness and locate the points. Three checkpoints were set up, which provided fresh water for cadets and a moment to catch their breath. Not much time was allotted for this exercise. Cadets had to find 5-of-7 points in three hours. The same scenario would be in place for night navigation training later that evening.
During the entire training weekend the higher level cadets were evaluated. The evaluations are sent to a committee. The committee places a cadet in a certain placement, in comparison with the nationwide ROTC program. The top ten percent of the ratings get to choose the branch of military they want to enlist in after they finish with ROTC.
“Many of the females do this for the nursing program,” Cadet Byrne said.
Other cadets plan to join different fields.
“I plan to be commissioned as an officer and fly helicopters,” Cadet Kyle Clark, a BSU student, said.
Saturday consisted of mock battle scenarios. Cadets ran bunker raids, squad drills, assaults, reactions to contact and area reconnaissance.
The cadets did not use real weapons. The exercises were all done with paint ball guns.
“Yes, in infantry training we get to use paintball guns,” S-1 Officer Janee Mestrovich said. “It’s very fun and very high energy all day.”
The weekend’s intent was to train cadets. They learned new skills, put into practice already-learned skills and had a fun time. Once scenarios were completed, cadets packed up and returned home that night to rest, recharge and prepare for another week of school.
For more information on the ROTC contact them at 426-3500 or armyrotc@boisestate.edu.
RYAN RASMUSSEN
News Writer
