The rising yearlings of the Class of 2016 participated in the Dry Outdoor Obstacle Course and the Water Confidence Course at Camp Buckner during Cadet Field Training recently. Their training provided a great way for them to gain confidence and encourage each other.
During the morning’s Dry Outdoor Obstacle Course, they climbed towers, swung on ropes, scurried across logs, and kept a steady balance to prevent them from falling into the "hot lava" below. The outdoor course in the woods is comprised of 19 obstacles.
One challenge, appropriately named "The Hard One," required cadets to climb a rope to a high platform, crawl across nets and up beams to another net, and then climb down. When asked what was needed to successfully complete this obstacle, Kevin Chen ’16 said the secret is, "Don’t be scared of heights and be confident in yourself."
Perhaps the most intimidating-looking obstacle on the course was the "Confidence Climb," a tower made up of horizontal bars approximately four feet apart that stretch 20 feet up towards the trees. Joyce Wu ’16 completed the tough climb up and down the tower and said, “The secret to doing well is not being scared of it and knowing that you’ve got it. It’s that simple. You just do it. And it all flows together.”
In the afternoon, the Water Confidence Course required precise balance and strength. Cadets balanced on a beam high above the water that led them to an even narrower and more wobbly beam with three steps on it. After successfully walking up and down the steps and crossing the beam, they reached a rope that they crawled across by hanging upside down. When they reached a certain location on the rope, they yelled “permission to hang!" They dropped their feet and yelled “permission to drop," did a pull-up, yelled "BEAT NAVY!" and dropped into the water. Christopher Caballero ’16 completed the challenge successfully and said that he gained a lot of confidence through this course. His advice—"You have to see it like another easy task. If things get complicated, you just walk through it."
The second part of the Water Confidence Course was zip-lining from an approximately 5-story tower, zooming through the air for about 11 seconds, and then plummeting into the water below, creating a huge splash.
Ashley Ziegler, a member of the Class of 2015, said she has a fear of heights and was very nervous about the "Slide for Life" zip-line. With water dripping from her ACUs and a big smile on her face, Ziegler said, "I’ve never gripped so hard to anything. It was thrilling. This was definitely the hardest challenge I’ve ever had to do." She, like many of her peers, was amazed by how much they learned during the training. "Today has been mentally, not physically, but mentally exhausting. I can tell myself now that I can put myself in the position to follow through—with whatever I do."
Check out photos of 6th Company performing the obstacle courses by visiting our myCapture photo gallery and our Facebook page.
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Cadet Field Training (CFT) Makes a Splash
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