AUM Army ROTC cadets take classroom learning to the field

A strip of greenspace at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) will become the landing zone for a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter to touch down for about 30 Army ROTC cadets traveling to Fort Moore, Georgia, for field training exercises in November.

The group of Army ROTC Mustang Battalion cadets will begin loading the helicopter at 8 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, to make their way to Fort Moore, where they will engage in three days of rigorous training exercises to prepare them for combat conditions. The Mustang Battalion includes cadets from AUM, Alabama State University, Faulkner University, Huntingdon College and Troy University.

Mustang Battalion cadets from Troy University will travel separately in three Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

Community members are invited to watch the helicopter’s landing and cadet send-off on the AUM campus. The landing zone will be behind the university’s Library Tower.

While at Fort Moore, cadets will engage in training to build their leadership, tactical and solider skills.

Over three days, the cadets will use skills previously learned in the classroom to complete exercises in land navigation, making camp, and solider skills such as repelling, said Lt. Col. Andrew Henderson, Army ROTC Professor of Military Science at AUM.

“During field training, cadets will get an opportunity to apply the concepts and principles taught in the classroom in a simulated warfare environment,” he said. “This training will also assist them in identifying individual strengths and weaknesses and the importance of teamwork.”

Cadets traveling to Fort Moore will vary in rank from cadet private to cadet lieutenant colonel.

Army ROTC cadet Nigel Sharpe, a business management major at AUM, said he hopes to use the training exercises to become proficient in leading troops.

“I want to gain confidence in making decisions in leadership roles and become proficient in infantry tactics and learning troop leading procedures,” said Sharpe, who plans to commission as an active duty officer and branch as an adjutant general after he graduates in August 2027.

For cadet Christopher Lett, a kinesiology major at AUM, the training is an opportunity to move his military career forward. After he graduates in May 2025, he plans to commission as an active duty officer and branch either as an adjutant general or military intelligence.

“I hope to become a more efficient leader, improve my military skills and learn to work with different people with different perspectives,” he said of going through training. “My plan is to retire after 20-plus years of serving in the military.”

Field training is an important experience that allows cadets to get a hands-on approach to leadership decision-making skills, and it helps them better identify potential challenges they may face during peace or in wartime environments, said Henderson.

“They’re learning the basic leadership and teamwork skills that will be improved upon in future classes and training exercises throughout their Army career,” he said.

Cadets will return to campus by bus on Sunday, Nov. 5.