On Friday, November 14th, Claremont’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets took part in a Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drill alongside cadets from Cal Poly Pomona and Azusa Pacific University in preparation for next weekend’s Leadership Training Exercises (LTX) at Camp Pendleton.
The cadets went over their plans for the LTX and then ran through four different missions, or “lanes” (with two squads separately running through each lane). Cadets practiced their critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and communications skills, among others, as they spent the afternoon going through these exercises.
The Claremont Independent was the only publication that covered Friday’s ROC drill. Here are twelve of the best photos from the ROC drill.
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Cadet Benjamin Waldman CMC ’15 (left) is the Executive Officer (senior-most cadet) of the Golden Lions Battalion.
Even the shooting range has its own detailed floor map. Safety is a major concern for next weekend. It’ll be the first FTX for the first-year cadets and many cadets’ first exposure to weapons.
Claremont ROTC Cadets pick up their “rubber duckies,” dummy rifles.
Claremont, Cal Poly Pomona, and Azusa Pacific University ROTC cadets at attention, now carrying their “rubber duckies.”
Cadets are taught to respect the villagers’ culture so long as it does not unduly risk their safety. For instance, the cadets are taught to allow villagers to invade their personal space since many non-Western cultures have different concepts of personal space.
The village elder’s son appears out of the house. Is he a threat?
As the cadets approach the house, “Boom” an IED explodes, killing Cadet Ashburn. Everything changes.
The cadets wrestle the village elder to the ground. Everyone is yelling. The elder’s son raises his weapon and shouts at the cadets.
The cadets hesitate to shoot. For what feels like an eternity, the cadets aim their dummy rifles at the elder’s son while he threatens to kill them and holds up his rifle. They yell back and forth with him until Cadet Schmidt takes the shot. “Bang.” It’s over.
The commanding officer for the second squad going through the second mission simulation is female. In order to respect village customs, she requires not only an interpreter but also a male interlocutor. It causes confusion, making communication and successful completion of the mission all the more difficult.
The elder is in a state of duress. The two men with guns outside his home are holding him and his family hostage. The HVT is located inside the elder’s home, which again is guarded by these two men.
Cadets enter the village elder’s home, in search of the High Value Target (HVT) inside.
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