• Winter Recon PLT FTX

  April 3, 2011

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  Tags:  

  university   rotc   Toledo   ftx   platoon   recon   of   army-rotc  

   Last weekend I participated in the University of Toledo ROTC Recon Platoon FTX.  This spanned an entire weekend and the 14 remaining members of Recon PLT conducted many different patrolling exercises or lanes.  We were led by the MS3 cadets who rotated through leadership positions while the MS4 cadets and cadre members followed along with us provided guidance and tips.  

  It was very cold the entire weekend, with temperatures ranging from the mid 40's to 10's at night.  This required us to wear most of our issued cold weather gear, which was a first for me.  And at night, I was still cold.  We conducted 4 lanes, each at least 4 hours long.  They were 3 recon lanes, an ambush lane, and a patrol base lane.  Not all of the lanes were successful, but that is what makes Recon PLT training different from regular ROTC training.  The variables and realism provided make you think quite a bit instead of just running through the motions.  

  The cadre and MS4 cadets did a great job planning and equipping us, we had the opportunity to use NVG (night vision) for our night lanes which definitely was a great asset.  

  Overall, I learned quite a bit more about patrolling and recon despite the freezing temperatures.  

  submitted by Cadet Andrew Brock on Apr 3 2011

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