FORT DRUM, N.Y. (July 21, 2016) -- Since the beginning of May, more than 1,200 Soldiers throughout the 2nd Brigade Combat Team "Commandos" have come together to support 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment "Golden Dragons," to help train more than 4,000 West Point and Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets during their annual Cadet Summer Training (CST) at the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point.
The Golden Dragons were selected by the 10th Mountain Division (LI) to help provide training and logistical support for CST in order to prepare cadets for the challenges they might encounter after becoming Army leaders.
"These cadets are the new generation of the Army's future leaders," said Capt. Daniel Reimer, assistant operations officer (S3), Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2-14 Infantry. "We have the opportunity here to shape and mold them and help prepare them for when they arrive at their first unit."
One way the leaders are helping cadets is having medics train them on how to evaluate a casualty for trauma injuries, treat shock, spot warning signs of heat injuries, and apply a tourniquet to a leg or arm.
"These cadets could possibly be in a combat situation in the near future," said Sgt. Thomas Worboys, health care specialist with C Company, 210th Brigade Support Battalion. "So we need to train them on how to be proficient in these lifesaving skills so they know what to do when the time comes."
The medical evaluation site was just one of many training areas the Golden Dragons used throughout the West Point campus to train cadets.
Some of the training sites included a rappel site, improvised explosive device lane using mobile robots and a gas chamber site called the "House of Tears."
Moving platoons ranging in size from 40 to 50 cadets to multiple training sites took the help of trained drivers operating Light Medium Tactical Vehicles, which offered a troop transport of up to 14 passengers per truck.
But if the range was close by, cadets put on their ruck sacks and headed to the next training event by foot.
One of those stops was at a range run by the 41st Brigade Engineer Battalion "Sappers," where Cadet Pfc. Haley Steele from West Milford, N.J., got to do something most cadets didn't have the opportunity to experience.
Steele was selected from her platoon to initiate the igniter that ran to a composition of explosives, detonation cord and a blasting cap, to set off an explosion that took down an enemy obstacle more than 800 feet away.
"It was an amazing experience," she said. "You could feel the energy rushing through the wire and then see the massive explosion. This summer has been amazing."
As cadets learn different ways of clearing terrain obstacles, one range safety officer recalled how it felt when she was a cadet.
"As a recent West Point graduate, it feels strange looking at these cadets, knowing that I was in their boots only a few years ago," said 1st Lt. Alessandra Coote, A Company, 41st Engineer Battalion. "I am taking what I have learned in the past to help inspire a new generation of officers and impart on them the lessons I have learned as a platoon leader in an engineer branch."
Coote said she feels that this training has been a valuable time for her Solders to become more proficient in their job.
"The best part of this training has to be that my Soldiers are getting the constant repetitions of their basic tasks," she said. "They are training new cadets on how to properly set up different styles of demolition tactics in a safe environment."
Coote continued to say that this training also gives cadets a chance to interact with Soldiers in various job skills that will help them when they work with multiple units during a field training exercise or deployment.
For most cadets attending USMA, they will take what they learned during their time at West Point to their first duty station; a select few will take what they have learned to their home country. Cadet Pfc. John Eraldo, Morogoro, Tanzania, in the foreign exchange program at USMA, will take what he learned over four years and help train his fellow soldiers.
"I feel honored that I get to be here representing my country," he said. "I am the first soldier from Tanzania to train here at West Point."
Eraldo continued to say that with his hard work and determination, he has helped to pave the way for other Tanzanians to apply for cadet roles at the U.S. Military Academy.
"It's an honor for (people from) other countries to become cadets at West Point," he said. "After graduation, we will have internalized the Army values like living honorably so we can go back home and instill the Army core values in our soldiers."
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