military education and training

The U.S. Army is overhauling its basic training program for the first time in 30 years. The military says the change is necessary to keep pace with the new realities of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that's not the only reason. Part of the shift is intended to train a new generation of soldiers whose experience with fighting is usually limited to video games.

advanced in terms of their use of technology, and maybe not as advanced in their physical capabilities or ability to go into a fight. So we're taking that into consideration as well in doing this holistic review.   -Mark Hertling

 

The United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., has announced that its annual Summer Leaders Seminars will take place May 29 through June 4 and June 5-11. The seminar is limited to 400 current high school juniors who meet the following criteria: * Leadership roles in extracurricular activities, whether school-affiliated or not. The week-long program consists of physical training, academic classes, afternoon sports, a day of military training, administration of the Candidate Fitness Assessmen  

Adapting to battlefield experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army is revamping its basic-training regimen for the first time in three decades by scrapping five-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and honing core muscles. Trainers hope the switch will better prepare soldiers physically for the pace of combat, with its sudden dashes and rolling gun battles. They also want to toughen recruits who are often more familiar with Facebook than fistfights.

We don't run five miles in combat, but you run across the street every day   -Frank Palkoska

 

While many Canadians have trekked south, Timmins army cadet Johnathan Thompson headed north to spend March Break in the wilderness. A member of 1884 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, Thompson is one of only 18 teens from across Ontario selected for the 2010 Army Cadet Regional Winter Expedition. This year's expedition takes the cadets to the James Bay Frontier Region for a nine-day adventure which began March 18.  

Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Gregory R. Mayer has graduated from the Army Basic Officer Leader Course III, designed to ensure a tough, standardized, small-unit leadership experience for officers. The course develops and produces competent, confident and adaptable officers with increased maturity equipped to share a common bond with their combined arms peers. The officers are trained to solve dilemmas, make rapid decisions and lead soldiers in the contemporary operating environment.  

The Licking County Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol announced that 1st Lt. Greg Pletcher, CAP, squadron commander of the unit, has been promoted to captain, signaling completion of Level II of the CAP Professional Development Program. Pletcher, of Heath, has been commander of the squadron since it was chartered one year ago. He was a cadet with the former Licking County squadron from 1988 to 1992.  

No music comes close to the steps of marching soldiers that rhyme with the heartbeats of the listeners. Each step and movement of the warrior's hands produce an inspiring music and charges up with bravery and patriotic fervour. All at the passing out parade of Indian Army's Officers Training Academy.  

Female students of various schools and colleges took part in a rally here on Friday to spread mass awareness about woman empowerment. Organised under the aegis of the 9 Assam Rifles Battalion, the rally was organised by the National Cadet Corps (NCC). The rally would cover almost all the interior areas of Jorhat.  

The indoor percussion ensembles from Tate and Escambia high schools will compete at a Winter Guard International regional competition this weekend in Nashville, Tenn. The local ensembles will compete against 11 percussion units from the South. The event is one of many regional competitions for percussion units across the country in preparation for the WGI World Championships on April 15-17 in Dayton, Ohio. Pensacola Junior College's Medical Career Expo is 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in Building 3600 on the  

Every Thursday, the Michigan Technological University Army ROTC has a training night, and this week it was a hands-on mission on the Michigan Tech trails near the softball fields on Sharon Avenue. "We're conducting a platoon ambush, so it's going to be about 20 to 25 cadets in a group and they have one leader, and a few subordinate leaders," Cadet Sergeant Major Chris Steimel said. The mission, like most in the ROTC program, is to build up leadership amongst the students.