Today the U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC) announced that both Advanced and Basic Camp held at Ft. Knox, Kentucky each summer has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was announced by video by Major General John Evans the Commanding General of USACC. Click image below to watch the video:
Advanced Camp
An important fact to take from this decision is that even though Advanced and Basic Camp are cancelled this year, this doesn’t mean the Cadets that were scheduled to attend will not conduct training. Instead all the ROTC battalions across the country will train their Cadets on the required training tasks during on campus training and two 96 hour Field Training Exercises (FTX) in the fall and spring quarters.
In anticipation of a possible decision like this, the leadership from both EWU and Gonzaga Army ROTC battalions have already developed a joint training plan for next year. The combined units are called Taskforce Spokane and the battalions will train together to ensure all Advanced Camp tasks are completed. EWU Cadets will be briefed on the plan during our Thursday training meeting. All efforts are being made to conduct Taskforce Spokane training responsibly and safely to keep our MS-III Cadets effected by this decision healthy and on-track to commission on time.
Additionally the Cadets that commission in academic year 2021 will conduct supplemental training as part of their Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC). The supplemental training will be 2-weeks long and include training tasks such as a live hand grenade throw, a night infiltration course, and a buddy team live fire.
Basic Camp
For our EWU Basic Camp Cadets, they will be trained on their required skills locally in September by our EWU Army ROTC Cadre. The completion of the local Basic Camp training will still allow those Cadets to move forward towards contracting. Each Cadet will be briefed on the details of the training plan later this week.
Additional Cancelled Training
The cancellation of Basic and Advanced Camp comes in addition to the previously announced cancellations of internships, the Nurse Summer Training Program (NSTP), advanced military training schools such as Airborne and Air Assault school, and Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT). EWU Army ROTC will continue to maintain close communication with our Cadets to keep them informed of Cadet Summer Training developments. If anyone has any questions feel free to reach out to your Military Science instructor or leave a comment.
Go Fighting Eags!