ROTC cadets globally trained for the Army

This summer, Xavier students traveled all over the world to participate in U.S. Army training. The ROTC cadets, Xavier students participating in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, had various opportunities, including the Leadership Development Assistant Course (LDAC). The ROTC cadets, who completed their third year of military science this past spring semester, flew across the country to attend LDAC at Joint Base Lewis- McChord in Washington. LDAC is a 28 day camp where cadets from all over the country are evaluated on their leadership abilities and is a culmination
of the skills and training learned while studying military science at Xavier. While at LDAC, four out of 17 cadets received an overall "Excellent" evaluation, commonly
referred to as simply "E." Cadets Anthony Frisone,
Alexis Thorne, Amanda Rainey and Nick Sagorsky performed in an "Excellent" manner while at camp.
This is a great accomplishment for the four cadets, and will help them in achieving their goal of becoming Second Lieutenants in the United States Army. Every cadet
also has an opportunity to earn "Recondo" at LDAC. In order
to receive the distinction of Recondo, cadets must perform
above and beyond specified objective standards. Seven of
Xavier's cadets earned Recondo status. These cadets
include Nichole Perrin, Kyle Osborn, Colin Zidar, Hans
Rhenisch, Ryan Jefferds, Keaten Joseph and Bobby Weigel. They all scored above average in land navigation, physical fitness, the obstacle courses, rappelling and first aid. LDAC tests and trains the cadets in various ways.
All cadets receive six evaluations; these evaluations are subjective and competitive. There were 17 leadership dimensions the cadets were graded on, ranging from mental agility to integrity to physical fitness. The cadets are also graded by their peers multiple times, which factors into their overall national ranking. Training at LDAC involves
multiple subject areas, including squad training exercises, chemical warfare preparation, weapons familiarization, patrolling, ruck marching and general military procedure,
among others. Training is similar but slightly different to
what is known as "basic training." Most ROTC students never attend basic training, and LDAC serves as the most formative training for cadets before they become lieutenants. All of the Xavier cadets performed well, scoring above the national average as a class.