Summer Programs and Opportunities

Travel and Experience the World as a Student for Free

There are an incredible number of experiences available throughout the year that enhance the student experience. Every opportunity is fully funded, and students are completely funded for all travel, food, and other expenses.

Qualified Cadets may attend Outward Bound, Basic Camp, Cadet Field Training, the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course, the U.S. Army Air Assault School, Ranger Challenge, the Army Mountain Warfare School, the Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School, Army Space Cadre Basic Course, ROTC Nurse Summer Training, and various other training opportunities offered annually. Additionally, Advanced Course Cadets may attend Cadet Troop Leadership Training (CTLT), serving an all-costs-paid two to three-week tour with an active Army unit within the continental United States, outside the continental United States (i.e., Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico) or overseas (i.e, Germany, Italy, South Korea, or more) upon completion of Cadet Summer Training (known as "CST" or "Advanced Camp"). If selected, Cadets are afforded the opportunity to travel and experience these locales in concurrence with their CTLT tour.

Students of any year group may attend Outward Bound during one of many available expedition periods throughout the year. Outward Bound delivers wilderness programs using unfamiliar settings as a way for students to experience adventure and challenge and help students discover that they can do more than they thought possible. Outward Bound USA has been the leading provider of outdoor education programs that allow young people to explore their personal potential since 1962. From expeditions in some of the most remote locations in the U.S. to programs in local schools and neighborhoods, young people nationwide are cultivating a passion for learning and discovering greater success in school, work, and life.

Basic Camp is four weeks of intense classroom and field training held in the summer at Fort Knox, KY. This course is an accelerated version of the two years of leadership development training Cadets receive in the Basic Course and substitutes for completion of MISC 103, 104, 200, and 204. By transforming yourself through this rigorous training, you will qualify for enrollment in the Army ROTC Advanced Course on campus provided you have two years of college remaining (undergraduate or graduate). Once you successfully complete Basic Camp and agree to contract and enter the Advanced Course, you may also qualify to receive a $5,000 bonus.

At Basic Camp, you experience the Army firsthand. You will receive the kind of leadership development training that is unmatched by any other program by developing your potential in the most important of ways- mentally, physically, and emotionally. You will be grouped into squads where you will gain experience in all leadership roles, culminating in detailed one-on-one verbal and written feedback on your performance and potential with a senior Army leader. You will also receive a stipend, transportation to and from Fort Knox, housing, and meals. The four weeks and four phases of Basic Camp can lead you to the ultimate goal: becoming an Army Officer.

Cadet Summer Training (CST) is a 35-day training event designed to develop a cadet’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and to forge them into tough, adaptable leaders who can thrive in ambiguous and complex environments. Cadets are evaluated on their ability to lead at the Squad and Platoon levels, both in garrison and tactical environments. Cadets are mentally and physically tested during a 12-day consequence-driven field training exercise that replicates a combat training center rotation. Successful completion of the Advanced Camp is a prerequisite for commissioning.

Advanced Camp is divided into four phases: (1) Reception and Staging, (2) Integration, (3) Deployment and Field Training Exercise (4) Redeployment and Reintegration.

Outcomes for Advanced Camp include:

• Assessing organizational capabilities and limitations to increase team cohesion and operational effectiveness.
• Developing agile and adaptive leaders that solve problems and thrive in ambiguous, complex operating environments.
• Applying components of cross-cultural competence in the conduct of military operations.

Successful completion of the Advanced Camp is a prerequisite for commissioning. Cadets typically attend CST during the summer semester following completion of their junior year.

Cadet Field Training is a three-to-four-week program of instruction at the United States Military Academy at West Point that emphasizes general military skills, individual preparedness training, preparations for extended field operations, and leading, participating in, and conducting small unit tactical operations. The purpose of Cadet Field Training is to develop, train, test, and validate specific tasks, prepare sophomore Cadets to assume duties as NCOs in the Corps of Cadets, instill the Warrior Ethos in each Cadet, and inspire each Cadet to professional excellence through physically and mentally demanding training. Sophomores in ROTC who wish to be competitive at the end of their junior year typically volunteer for Cadet Field Training. ROTC sophomores are placed into advanced training exercises with juniors at West Point, allowing them to participate in some of the most well-funded training experiences in the world.

The U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course is located at the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Moore, Georgia. This course is designed to train you to become a paratrooper. It develops the student's confidence through repetitious training so that the student can overcome the natural fear of jumping from an airplane, and develop and maintain the high level of physical fitness required of a paratrooper. Each student must satisfactorily complete 5 jumps from an aircraft while in flight. A cadet obtains a slot in Airborne School by virtue of his/her performance during the school year. The Battalion usually receives 1-2 slots per year. Only the most qualified and motivated cadets will be selected to attend the course.

U.S. Army Air Assault School is located at several places including Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Fort Drum, New York, the United States Military Academy, and various continental U.S. and overseas locations to include Germany and Hawaii. This school is an intense 10-day course designed to give leaders a basic understanding of Army helicopter missions. Students will be tested in the classroom and through hands-on, performance-oriented evaluations. It is broken down into three phases: Aircraft Familiarization Phase, Slingload Phase, and Rappel Phase. A cadet obtains a slot in Air Assault by virtue of his/her performance during the school year. The Battalion usually receives 3-4 slots per year. Only the most qualified and motivated cadets will be selected to attend the course.

Ranger Challenge is a prestigious club and competition that is considered the varsity sport of Army ROTC. It consists of a eleven-person coed team and represents the school's ROTC program nationally each fall semester. Its purpose is to develop esprit-de-corps, technical and tactical competence, physical fitness, and leadership abilities of its participants. During Ranger Challenge, you will be able to meet and network with high-performing and like-minded peers across the nation as well as influential senior leaders in the military. You will often hear from many senior leaders in the United States Army that they first met each other as college students at Ranger Challenge. It is a tradition and competition that spans decades.

The competition tests cadets in weapons handling and assembly, marksmanship, one-rope bridge assembly and crossing, orienteering, the hand grenade assault course, and many physically intensive events involving strength, power, and endurance. Teams move from event to event across approximately 20 to 30 miles within a 24-hour period. Winning teams for each Brigade subsequently participate in the annual Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) in the spring. Sandhurst is a two-day competition featuring teams from West Point, Army ROTC units across the U.S., all service academies, and 14 international teams from across the globe.

Mountain Warfare School is at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont. This course is designed to teach and familiarize cadets with mountain operations. It will challenge you both physically and mentally. Training is nonstop: 16 hours per day for 14 days. It tests your physical strength by forcing you to carry a 45-65 pound rucksack for 2-5 miles a day in mountainous terrain and mentally by testing your day and night land navigation skills.

Northern Warfare School is taught at the Northern Warfare Training Center in Fort Greely, Alaska. The course is designed to familiarize selected cadets with the skills required for movement in mountainous terrain and cold regions during summer months. Emphasis is placed on basic military mountaineering skills and river operations on the inland waterways. A cadet obtains a slot in Northern Warfare School by virtue of his/her performance during the school year. The Battalion usually receives 0-1 slots per year. Only the most qualified and motivated cadets will be selected to attend the course.

The Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC) spans 12 days through which students execute a 12 day program of instruction. Subjects focus on jungle mobility training, waterborne operations, combat tracking, jungle tactics, survival training, and situational training exercises at the squad level. Graduates of the JOTC learn tactics, techniques, and procedures required to fight, win, and survive within any jungle environment. The course consists of two weeks of training following the crawl, walk, run methodology embedded within each activity as well as the overall training path.

Key West Florida is known worldwide as one of the tourist destinations, but it’s also home to the Special Forces Underwater Operations School. The Army’s six-week course churns out combat divers who take that knowledge back to their units and share it with their own teams.

Cadets with an Academic Major in Nursing are the only Cadets eligible to apply for this program. Cadets are assigned to Army Medical Facilities both in the continental United States (CONUS) and outside the continental United States (OCONUS), including Europe. NSTP provides nursing Cadets with opportunities to develop and practice leadership in a clinical environment. Cadets work side-by-side with an Army Nurse Corps Officer preceptor. Cadets must submit an application packet through their Brigade Nurse counselor to the Cadet Command Chief Nurse to qualify. Cadets applying for this program must be certified in Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS- Provider level), and certification may not expire prior to the completion of NSTP training.

Cadet Troop Leadership Training is an optional program for MS3 cadets (juniors) during the summer following completion of CST. This three-week continental U.S. or 4-week overseas program trains Cadets in Lieutenant positions with active Army and Reserve component units. Assignments are available in nearly all branches worldwide.

Snapshot in History

David Hughes (Class of 2020), a junior in this photo, excitedly sprints off Fryar Drop Zone with his T-11 parachute at Fort Moore, Georgia, in 2019. He has just completed his first static line jump at the Basic Airborne Course. A few minutes prior to this photo, David Hughes conducted a proper exit out of the door of a C-130 aircraft flying at a speed of 130 knots (about 150 miles per hour) at an altitude of 1,250 feet. During Jump Week, students must successfully complete five parachute jumps with the T-11 parachute at 1,250 feet from a C-130 or C-17 aircraft. Students must run to the airfield daily, conduct sustained airborne training, don their equipment, and await their turn to jump. Generally, two of the jumps are "combat equipment jumps," in which the jumper carries a rucksack with MAWC (Modular Airborne Weapons Case) and a dummy weapon. Three jumps are "Hollywood", in that the jumper only wears the parachute and reserve. The last jump will culminate by combining the combat equipment with a night jump, giving the student a complete understanding of a night combat equipment jump.