Army ROTC learns tactical ground work for leadership 

Amidst camouflage and battle cries Army ROTC cadets learned basic dodging, crawling and rolling recently to prepare them for future training and provide opportunities to exercise leadership skills.

The cadets practice these Individual Movement Techniques called IMT’s to increase survivability on the battle field.

“I find it beneficial because it’s ground work for the rest of the year,” said Patrick O’Donahue, a 3rd year Army ROTC cadet majoring in construction management. “If you can’t do this well, it ruins the rest of the year.”

O’Donahue said once he learned this added skill set it enhanced his leadership abilities in church, community and with peers.

“The program teaches you leadership skills and philosophy,” he said.

In nine-men squadrons, cadets cross the field practicing three basic techniques: a high crawl, low crawl and three-to-five-second rush. The high crawl consists of staying low and moving quickly elbow to elbow, while the low crawl requires you drag your face in the soil. The three-to-five-second rushes are to help the cadets prepare to fall, crawl and shoot. These basic moves are used in any terrain so they are always applicable.

Once they practice the basic IMT’s then the cadets are ready to put their skill into practice and run through a course avoiding air soft gunfire.

 “It’s a lot of fun; it’s something to do,” said Hyrum Keime, a 4th year cadet officer in charge, majoring in recreational management. “It’s physically appealing.”

Another ability they practiced was taking a wounded soldier off the battlefield. In this exercise the cadets learned how to effectively carry the wounded on their backs or drag them to safety. “Never leave a fallen comrade” is their motto Keime called the “warrior ethos.”

Each cadet in the squad was given the opportunity to lead their troops through the courses and in drills throughout the semester.

“The genesis of the whole thing is to evaluate the leader,” said Davis Wallentine, an Army ROTC 4th year cadet battalion executive officer majoring in linguistics. “If you can lead troops, shooting, moving and communicating, [the] idea is that you will be able to lead them in whatever job specialty they go into.”

Mary Joe Ford, a 4th year cadet plans on going into nursing when she graduates from the Army ROTC.

“The most value I get out of ROTC is leadership,” Ford said.

Ford is the only female who is a 4th year and sometimes finds it difficult to get the men in her squad to follow her as a leader.

“You learn to deal with it,” Ford said. “You have to put yourself forward and show that you know your stuff.”

Ford finds many other benefits in the Army ROTC such as a healthy lifestyle and the friendships she makes.

Wallentine also believes the ROTC enhances his time at BYU.

“There are opportunities in team building, communication and camaraderie you couldn’t find anywhere else in a college experience,” Wallentine said.

This article was originally published in the Daily Universe on October 5, 2009.