Cadets Prep at Snowy Navajo for Captone Commissioning Challenge

Photo By Maj. Amanda Hammond | Two cadets complete the final event in a four-day field training exercise at Camp Navajo, a ruck march designed to help them prepare for their capstone training event prior to commissioning.  

BELLEMONT, AZ, UNITED STATES

04.15.2019

Story by Maj. Amanda Hammond 

Arizona Garrison Training Centers

Six Southwestern universities recently came together for an immersive field exercise in Arizona designed to prepare future Army lieutenants for the rigors that await them prior to commissioning.

Approximately 150 cadets enrolled in ROTC at Arizona State University, Embry Riddle, Grand Canyon University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona, and the University of New Mexico trained at Camp Navajo for four days. Training included land navigation, squad tactical exercises, and a ruck march.

Lt. Col. James Sink, Professor of Military Science for ASU and GCU said the annual exercise is designed to help prepare students prior to attending the Advanced Leader Course, which is the capstone training event for cadets prior to commissioning. Sink said the exercise helps the cadets get used to working with new people, and the terrain at Camp Navajo prepares them for Fort Knox better than any other training area in the Southwest.

“The facilities are very impressive at Navajo,” Sink said. “The Arizona National Guard has done a good job putting the facilities together. They’re top notch to be quite honest and the training area is amazing.”

Camp Navajo is located approximately 20 minutes from Flagstaff and sits above 7,000 feet. The base is run by the Arizona National Guard and gives service members from all components and intergovernmental agencies an opportunity to train at high altitude on heavily forested, mountainous terrain. During this exercise many of the cadets experienced something they hadn’t before – bivouacking in an April snow storm.

“This training area is kind of neat because it is the only place in Arizona that looks like this,” Sink said. “They’re not gonna see this down south.”

Cadet Justin Profit, a senior cadet who has already passed the Advanced Leadership Camp, returned to Camp Navajo this year to participate as a member of the oppositional forces designed to test the cadets during tactical scenarios. Profit agreed that the terrain and opportunity to work with people from other schools are important components to preparing cadets for Camp.

“I love Camp Navajo,” Profit said. “The forest, the mountains, the terrain… it all helps prepare you for camp. Especially for land nav. Training here gives you a real advantage over people who haven’t done something like this.”

• Date Taken: 04.15.2019
• Date Posted: 05.04.2019 12:20
• Story ID: 320733
• Location: BELLEMONT, AZ, US
• Hometown: ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US
• Hometown: FLAGSTAFF, AZ, US
• Hometown: PHOENIX, AZ, US
• Hometown: PRESCOTT, AZ, US
• Hometown: TUCSON, AZ, US