• Air Assault School Summer 2010

  October 18, 2010

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  Tags:  

  university   rotc   air  

  Hi, my name is Caleb Sandoval and I am an MSIII Cadet at the Michigan State University Army ROTC program. I had the opportunity to attend to the Army's Air Assault School during the summer of 2010. I never really gave summer training much thought, but when I got the call from my Military Science Professor between my MSII and III year I took the slot. The school was held at Camp Smith, New York which is near West Point.

  The 11 days (they count the first day consisting of the obstacle course as Day Zero) of Air Assault school were an emotional roller coaster for me and some of the best and worst days of my short Army career. The school will stress you mentally and physically, which is why I've heard some call it the "toughest ten days in the Army". The Air Assault Sergeants would smoke us so much that we thought we'd fall apart. On top of pushing myself to the limit of what I thought I could do physically, we were required to memorize information during the first and second phases and take academic tests concerning Air Assault operations which consist of the rotary wing aircraft the Army uses (speed, allowable cargo load, etc.), 9-Line Medevac procedures, hand and arm signals used for guiding an aircraft into the LZ, and sling load operations. These weren't easy memorizing all of it with the 3 days we had for each phase, but the Air Assault Sergeants gave us plenty of time to study after training was over for each day. After each phase was passed, I felt like I was on top of the world and this helped a lot going into the next phases. During the third and final phase, we got to rappel off of the 60 foot towers and also rappel out of the UH-60 Blackhawks hovering from 100 feet up. This phase was the most fun because it was such a rush everytime you went off. It was some of the most fun I've ever had in my life, and I'll be the first to admit that I am scared of heights. But once I put on that Army uniform and carry that United States flag on my shoulder, there isn't anything that I'm scared of. Finally on graduation day, we had to complete the 12 mile ruck march within 3 hours. That by itself was the toughest part of Air Assault School for me, but I drove on with graduation in mind. After completing that, we finally had our graduation ceremony and had our Air Assault pins put on our uniforms. (It was worth it to get the "Blood Wings") After taking my Oath to be a Cadet, this was the single proudest moment of my Army career. All the blood, bruises, sweat, and anguish experienced during the training was all worth it to be counted as another Air Assault qualified Cadet.

  Overall, each day was a new challenge and I learned so much about the Army, Air Assault, and myself as a person. Air Assault School took me to above and beyond what I thought I could do as a Cadet and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I went through the training with many people from around the United States who were ROTC, Reserve, West Point, and Active Soldiers. Meeting these other people who helped you and were in the same boat as you were really made the experience worthwhile. If you want the confidence to take on further challenges in your Army career, I would highly suggest attending the Air Assault School because it will teach you more than just Air Assault operations and teach you what you're made really made of.

  submitted by Cadet Caleb Sandoval on Oct 18 2010

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