HOUGHTON - 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. Steimel is a fourth-year social sciences student, and he's been through three years of these missions. Now he, along with the other fourth-year students, help to organize the training.
"All the fourth years make up the staff, which in a normal unit is what plans the day-to-day activities," Steimel said. "We do everything from (physical training) in the morning at 6 a.m. at the SDC, to running these Thursday simulations."
At this week's simulations, the cadets were split into two groups, and both had to perform their ambush to stop scouts from finding access to their supply port.
"The leader is read an order early in the day and he has to produce his own orders to subordinate leaders who produce orders down to the individual cadets," Steimel said. "Then we'll actually execute it as it gets further along in the day."
The cadets went out about a half mile down a trail and then found a meeting place in the woods where they formulated their plan and executed it.
"This helps develop us, it lets us learn what exactly we're going to be doing in the future," second-year business administration-accounting student Eric Stants said. "This is allowing us to see what everyone else is seeing, and Tech is really good about allowing us to go in the woods and see firsthand what we're going to be doing.
"My sister goes to (Michigan State University) and sometimes they'll be doing this kind of thing in a gym."
Stants was charged with keeping embedded media safe during the mission that ended with the cadets successfully ambushing three enemies.
"This is a very good experience because we are able to realize what everyone's strengths and weaknesses are," said Stants, who grew up in Brighton. "We're able to help each other improve where we're lacking."
Calumet High School graduate Keith Helminen joined the ROTC just a few months ago, and said the experience has been worthwhile.
"I've been learning a lot trying to catch up," the third-year electrical engineering student said. "I've been surprised by all the stuff to learn; it's a little overwhelming at first, but it's been a lot of fun."
The learning, including classroom work and a lot of physical training, but this type of training provides another aspect.
"We're just working on improving our infantry right now, learning what it would be like if we went overseas, if we went into actual combat," Helminen said.
More than 50 cadets participated in Thursday's training.
Michael H. Babcock can be reached at mbabcock@mininggazette.com.
