The University of Idaho Argonaut

Members of the UI Army ROTC and College of North Idaho cadets work on small missions in the woods around Moscow. Photo Courtesy of Andrew Priest

Sitting outside, across from one another, three guards divulge their personal thoughts in the darkness. In an effort to keep the security ring hidden, nothing burns in the campfire pit.
The cadets are undergoing a Field Training Exercise, which happens every year in the autumn and spring.
Military science students in the University of Idaho Army ROTC are sent to Camp Grizzly, a site owned and used as a nature retreat by the Boy Scouts.

Cadets from UI, who are often stuck in the classroom, are sent out to train in the woods where they learn things that can’t be taught in the more restrictive environment UI creates.
Learning how to interact with the press is an important part of the training. The Army has guidelines for dealing with media that every cadet is trained to know: no discussions of larger political issues and no speaking on the Army’s behalf, only for yourself, so the conversations stay personal.
The cadets also learn how to make decisions in tactical situations. Three squads total, made of students from both the UI Army ROTC, and for the first time, North Idaho College cadets, worked on completing small missions for two days in the woods north of Moscow.
The missions are complete with enemies and objectives. Their squad and team leaders brief the cadets beforehand, and their peers evaluate them afterward.

For some, learning what to say and what not to say was easier than others. Cadets are expected to detach themselves from their worldviews and act independently of their own beliefs. It is a policy of the armed forces to execute policy, not to decide it.
“You don’t want to reflect poorly on the organization,” said Daniel Nedell, sophomore and second-year military science student. “And that’s really why the policies are in place, not to restrict us as individuals, but … to present our organization in the light that it should be presented in, and that’s one that’s very professional.”

Ben Johnson, who is already enlisted with the 659th Army Engineering Unit in Spokane, said, “I hate it,” when asked how he felt about the policy, but he didn’t elaborate beyond that.
More than anything this is a learning experience for the cadets, and for many of them, it’s a difficult one.
“I remember it being pretty tough when I was a freshman,” Nedell said. “I was clueless, and it was frustrating, but at the same time a little bit of frustration is good. For me, it helps me learn.”

Nedell said the process can be overwhelming for students at first, but he called it “a great environment to be in because everyone around you is very helpful.”
It’s a harsh realization for some, and a few admitted they hadn’t reached yet, when they see that they’re training for conflict. Many said they did imagine themselves going to Iraq or Afghanistan in the next several years.
Mitch Bliss, junior and MS-3, is the leader of the first squad. He said he plans to make a career in the Army flying helicopters.

“I’m not going to lie. I mean, I’ll be scared,” Bliss said. “I think everybody is. Maybe some people don’t admit it, don’t like to show it, but I guess it’s reassuring to me to know that my family cares about me and will be thinking about me while I’m gone. I know I’m getting the best training… and that I’ll be going into a situation with that.”