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Ft. Bliss, Texas
Burke Nelson CTLT
Unlike many Cadets who attended Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT) with the Badger Battalion, I went prior to the Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC). On May 31st I left Madison for Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. I was posted with a Combat Engineer Company that was part of a Special Troops Battalion meaning, there was also a Military Police (MP), a Military Intelligence (MI), and a Signal Company in the same Battalion. When deployed, the Battalion is essentially the assets of the Brigade Commander to use as the mission dictates rather than having to pull units from separate locations. It was definitely interesting to see non-traditional Unit compositions and how many Officers have unique challenges in command, especially since the Battalion Commander was an Armor Officer. All in all, branch may not matter as much as one would think. In the end, you are leading Soldiers.
Despite their being 10 other Cadets spread amongst four Lieutenants and most of the Company being away for block leave prior to their deployment, I made the best of the situation and learned a lot by simply being motivated and willing to work. While other Cadets stayed in the office and watched movies, I was busy helping to do Preventative Maintenance Checks and Services (PMCS) of the Bradley Fighting Vehicles among other things. As my Lieutenant was the load master for the Company, I learned a lot about how to pack connexes to
standard, get them secured, and ensure all of the necessary paper work is done correctly. In the end, after the Lieutenant went on leave himself, I had earned enough respect from the Squad Leaders to continue getting essential tasks done. It was not because I was a Cadet, but rather because of the way I had acted. When I was called "Sir" regularly after a week or so in, I knew that respect was earned, never given. The same is true of responsibility. Although Second Lieutenant Floyd went to West Point and didn't quite understand how ROTC worked, I came to learn a lot about our brothers and sisters at the Academy, and he only gave me responsibility after he saw I was able to handle it.
I did have time to have fun as well. Being in El Paso, I got the opportunity to eat at many delicious traditional Mexican restaurants. I also got time to mountain bike through the desert, and do lots of other great Physical Training (PT) to get prepared for the Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC). In addition, I met some other great Cadets who I still talk to, and am actually closer with than my Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) Squad. Overall, I would recommend Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT) to anyone who wants to see how the Army works on a day to day basis, and wants to see a bit more of the United States.