FORT SILL, Okla. July 2, 2015 -- More than 200 Army Junior ROTC cadets from 19 high schools across Oklahoma and Lubbock, Texas, were at Fort Sill June 22-27, for the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge. The cadets ranged from freshmen to seniors.

Camp directors put the cadets in leadership roles and through team building and confidence enhancing activities so that they can learn to become responsible citizens, not Soldiers, said retired Lt. Col. James Taylor, camp commander.

"The camp is to challenge cadets to overcome fears and to get out of their comfort zones," said Adams, who is Lawton's Eisenhower High School JROTC senior instructor. "By the end of the week they will be challenged physically, mentally and emotionally."

One way they do this is by separating the cadets from schools' programs and mixing them in different squads, he said.

New this year at the Fort Sill camp was the integration of boys and girls into companies and all activities.

"It's something that the Army has been doing, society has been doing, so we felt that it was a good time for JROTC to finally do it," said Adams.

Cadets went through the Confidence Obstacle Course, the same one used by Basic Combat Training Soldiers, for fitness and to gain confidence, the camp director said. They also completed a land navigation course and rappelled Treadwell Tower. In the evenings, there were events like volleyball, tug-of-war and relay races. The camp ended with a drill competition.

None of the activities involved weapons training, Adams said.

Cadet Shannon Douthit, 16, of Putnam City West High School in Oklahoma City, already knows she wants to enlist in the National Guard during college. She said one of the things she learned at the camp was teamwork.

"Definitely stick together, don't get aggravated just stay calm and plan it through," she said. "Planning is 95 percent of a task, and proceeding with it is 5 percent."

Cadet Christopher Shaw, 17, of East Central High School in Oklahoma City, is in his third year of JROTC. He said he has gained much from the camp.

"It's fast paced and we're doing things efficiently and conquering everything that you wouldn't have expected," Shaw said.