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As our cadets progress through their years in the Badger Battalion, one event stands out as the premier training and evaluation event: The Leadership Development and Assessment Camp, more commonly known as LDAC or Warrior Forge.
Held in the sprawling, temperate rainforest of Ft. Lewis, Washington, Warrior Forge is the culmination of all training that the cadets have received up to and including their junior year. While they are there, cadets are placed in companies and platoons with other cadets from every other ROTC university across the United States. During your roughly 30 days on ground, cadets are placed in numerous leadership positions, both in the garrison environment and in a tactical field environment and they are evaluated, mentored and coached on becoming one step closer to the Leaders of tomorrows Army.
For more information about Warrior Forge, follow the links below:
Warrior Forge
Warrior Forge Pictures
As the school year winds down, the cadets take part in a Company/Battalion Run to build morale and esprit de corps. Rather than spending some time in the Shell, the cadets get outside and run around campus, singing cadences and enjoying the fresh Spring weather. Here are pics of the run. Be aware, the bluriness just shows you how fast these guys are moving :)
Each year the Crazy Legs Classic runs in Madison. This 8k race starting at the Capitol Square and finishing on the 50 yard line of Camp Randall, winds its way across the familiar sights of the UW-Madison Campus. The money raised benefits the University and the Athletic department and brings in alumni from all over the nation who wish to reconnect with their roots at this great college.
This year the weather was less than spectacular with cold rain drizzling over the racers for the majority of the 8k course. That, however, did not dampen the spirits of the over 18,000 people who still came out to compete in this Badger tradition. Take a look at these snapshots from the Race day of our friendly Badger Battalion Fun and Fitness Team.
The Spring FTX (or Field Training Exercise) is a culmination event for the juniors and seniors and their hard work over the last 9 months. For the departing seniors, it is one of their last chances to depart the wisdom and skills they have gained in their ROTC years to the classes below them. For the juniors, this is one of the last big opportunities for them to hone their skills before they head off to LDAC/Warrior Forge this summer.
This weekend training at Ft. McCoy features some Land Navigation, some squad level STX (Situational Training Exercises) and even some patrol level operations. In addition to the high speed training, the cadets of all 4 schools work togther intermixed, learning new techniques for success from each other. Take a look at some of our action shots of Cadets out at Ft. McCoy!!
Each year the cadets participate in 2 great military traditions: the Dining In and the Military Ball. These functions give the cadets a chance to relax, have fun and learn more about the traditions of the great organization they will be joining shortly as commissioned officers.
This Spring the cadets of the University of Wisconsin - Madison hosted the Military Ball at the Monona Terrace, overlooking the beautiful Lake Monona. The event featured great food, great company and an alumni of the Badger Battalion as the night's guest speaker. COL Buche is currently the commander of the Old Guard and an alum of the University of Wisconsin and gave an enjoyable address to the assembled cadets.
Thanks to all the guests and friends who made the night enjoyable and you can search through the pictures below to find some great shots of our cadets in action.
Only in the great State of Wisconsin would this conversation not be considered crazy:
Guy A:"Hey its snowing outside, and the lakes are all frozen over. What are we going to do today?"
Guy B: "I know, lets cut a hole in the ice of the frozen lake and then we can go jump inside of the freezing water."
Guy A: "Even better, lets invite all of our friends and we can all do it together."
Guy B: "Sweet!"
And so they did cut a hole in the ice, and invited all their friends and they called it the Polar Plunge. Cadets and cadre from Madison and Whitewater participated in the jump in the chilly water to raise funds for the Special Olympics. You can check below for some pictures of the cold day. Great work to all who participated!
Every year, the Indiana University Army ROTC hosts the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge Testing. ROTC Units from all over the area send teams to compete and walk away with a new badge they can proudly display on their Class A Uniform. These cadets get tested in their ability to fire a pistol, run, swim, jump, throw a shot-put, and complete a ruck march. The testing is rigorous and is completed in a 3 day time frame.
This year, the Badger Battalion sent 12 students to Indiana University and 8 of those students came away from the competition with the highly coveted badge. Congratulations to all the winners and check out the pictures in the album from this past weekend.
In preparation for LDAC, Cadets took to the UW Natatorium late last week to practice their water survival skills as well as complete the commissioning requirement of the swim and tread water test. Some of the training included the blind folded jump from the 3 meter diving board with weapon, the equipment drop after being pushed into the water and the 25 meter swim with full equipment. Cadets also took part in a 5 meter confidence jump from the daunting 5 meter platform. Take a look at the pictures below to see these cadets in some great high speed training!
Recently, we have received a lot of emails about the return of the Alumni page where past Alumni can get in contact with each other and share information to keep in touch. Currently, we are looking at recreating this page so that all the Alumni of the Badger Battalion, past, present and future, will have the opportunity to connect.
That being said, the information from the old Alumni page has been lost amidst the transition to the new Website. Though we are still looking and trying to find that information, it is unclear what exactly we may or may not be able to find. Though frustrating to lose that information, it allows us the opportunity to create the new page in the best possible way to facilitate the needs of our Alumni and offering the best possible experience.
So, to all the Alumni: send in your emails ot the webmaster at gold.bar@live.com and let us know what you want to see. Our goal is to create a place for you to be able to connect without having just a list of people's information that anyone interested in soliciting Veterans is able to get their hands on. Could this forum exist in a Facebook group? Would you want to be put on a list and have that list emailed out periodically with people listed by graduating year? Any other suggestions?
We look forward to your comments and suggestions.
After coming back from the Winter Break, it is time to work off those holiday pounds and the cadets were right back into the swing of things with Physical Training bright and early in the morning. Here, you can see an album of pictures from the latest Army Physical Fitness Test.
