ROTC cadets sharpen skills at Camp Pendleton

By Terran Odell
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

Members of the Cal State Long Beach Army ROTC (Reserve Officer's Training Corps) attended a three-day field training exercise (FTX) at Camp Pendleton this past weekend.

Thirty-three members composed the Cal State Long Beach team, which included students from CSULB, UCI, CSULA, and CSUDH, and 36 members composed the USC team.

The event served as one of several annual events sponsored by the Army ROTC program to help develop the skills that these students need to become army officers upon their graduation from their respective schools.

"We are playing army," said Cadet Jimmy Oh. "The whole event is about giving us field training. We're coming out to a real army base."

Day one was kicked off with a stressful situation of time management, but after all was worked out the journey to Camp Talega at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base got under way. The first day consisted primarily of basic rifle marksmanship (BMR) classroom instruction.

"You've got to make safety a top priority because there are lives at stake, period," said LTC Kyle George, who has 18 years of army experience under his belt, during an introduction to BMR.

Day two's agenda entailed three facets: BMR, day land navigation, and night land navigation. Major Bart Lawrence stressed a simple statement as the day began, "Stay alert, stay alive."

The gun range was an organized, safe event, where all cadets utilized the skills they had learned the day prior. For many it was their first time firing a M16 Rifle, but others had arrived with experience.

Nevertheless the sound of Sergeant Mike Massie's booming voice could be heard with the repeated comment, "Alright firers, let's go downrange."

After zeroing their weapons, cadets had to shoot 40 rounds of ammunition in order to qualify; 23 hits was the requirement to do so. Most cadets achieved their goal, but for some this was not the case.

For Cadet Isabel Hsu, challenge arrived in the form of losing her contacts in the dirt while firing to qualify. "Overall it is a very good experience," said Hsu. " I wouldn't trade it for any luxury."

The second event of the day was day land navigation. The cadets had to find at least four out of seven land points using their land navigation skills.

"It was extremely hard, especially the land navigation," said CSULB freshman cadet, Daekwang Choi. "I learned so much land navigation."

After a long day on Saturday, the ROTC cadets awakened to an exam on land navigation, and had two additional tasks to complete before returning to USC for the commensurate ceremony and BBQ: FLRC (Field Leadership Reaction Course) and the three grenade throwing techniques.

FLRC is the epitome of what the ROTC program is trying to accomplish with this event.

When asked what he was hoping his cadets would get out of the program George said, "There are four things: One, have fun. Two, bond as a team, forge links between themselves, and build teamwork. Three, put into practice their leadership skills. And four, hone some of the skills such as land navigation and BMR. I think they have accomplished all of them."

While this is just one of the events ROTC cadets will attend, it is one that is representative of what the program is all about.

"We teach leadership," George said. "We're one of the few organizations that offer practical leadership training that leads to a direct career. It's the best leadership course you can take at college."