It’s 3:45 AM on a Saturday… and your alarm goes off. This sounds like a nightmare for most college students, but this is what went down for most cadets last weekend.
Fall FTX(Field Training Exercise) happens every fall semester for cadets in the Nittany Lion Battalion. It’s basically a 36 hour(estimation) hands-on experience for Army ROTC. For the cadre and older cadets(MSL III’s & MSL IV’s), 36 hours was nothing compared to their prior training/camps, however, for a majority of younger cadets, this was excruciatingly long.
At the crack of dawn of a Saturday morning, the sidewalks of Curtin road were full of cadets making their way to Bigler field. Cadets were dressed ready for the field in OCP’s (Operational Camouflage Pattern), combat boots, FLC vests (fighting load carrier), and rucksacks. Carrying all these items looks excessive, but much of it is essential in the conditions we train in. The rucksacks contained issued clothing, raingear, hygiene items, sleep systems, and other necessities. The FLC vests are critical because of the canteen holders which holds cadet’s water supply. Overall, the equipment and uniform brought with each individual cadet on FTX are in the best interest of their mission and needs.
Each platoon departed Bigler field at different times, my platoon was the very last to leave. In that two-hour time span, upper-level cadets that were squad leaders gave us an in-depth explanation of aid and litter and EPW (Enemy prisoner of war). This information would be helpful later as we carried out “missions” where we conducted aid & litter and EPW.
Finally, at 0630 we made our way to AO lion which is the designated area where FTX was being conducted at. As we rucked for 30 minutes to AO lion, it felt as it was the calm before the storm of FTX. Our boots hitting the ground while our rucks made their own distinct noises, but the best part of those final moments before FTX was the sunrise across the horizon that had me in awe as I walked towards the seemingly unknown training.
Starting the day at 4:30 AM makes the rest of the day feel excruciatingly long, especially when you decide it’s logical to stay up watching Penn State beat Illinois (logical? No, but definitely worth it.) There’s no doubt that nearly everyone felt some sort of ache and tire, both mentally and physically, but the thrill of a new experience kept many of us going. For the underclassmen, the knowledge that was being passed down felt critical and immersing as every bit of information felt crucial to know. For the upperclassmen, teaching the younger cadets was important in their leadership capabilities and motives.
The day was full of rucking approximately 10-15 miles with all the gear, while moving from station to station. Each station covered a different topic, such as weapon clearing, formations, camoflauge face painting, and much more. All the stations were intended to lead cadets successfully into the missions that laid ahead.

As the sun fell towards the horizon, the day seemed as if it couldn’t get any longer… but it did. A part of FTX was training towards missions and
tactical training. Therefore, the night was spent pulling security in each platoon’s base, which was split up between each of the squads. Cadets were in the prone position with “rubber duckies” which are fake weapons used during fall FTX. For about 20 minutes, sqauds took shifts to patrol the designated base, which was practically walking around while attempting not to step on other platoon members. Then, at 4:45 AM squads were waken up for 360 security of the base, this was 2 hours of intensely staring into the dark waiting for the sun to rise. After this, each squad executed run-throughs of making contact with the enemy. Overall, the missions were fairly realistic and practical; helping cadets have a general idea/hands-on experience in the field.