Leader’s Training Course wraps up

Cadets salute the colors during a graduation ceremony at the 2009 Leader's Training Course.

By Forrest Berkshire
U.S. Army Cadet Command

Sunday’s graduation of Co. B 1/46th Inf. marked the end of the 2009 Leader’s Training Course at Fort Knox, Ky.

Seven companies comprising 1,810 college students — the largest turnout in more than a decade — attended the annual course designed to introduce them to Army life and to qualify them to receive a scholarship through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Of those, 1,718 graduated.

For many Cadets, the four weeks they spent living in barracks under the tutelage of drill sergeants and senior officers were their first exposure to Army life. Many of them lost weight, gained an appreciation for the life of a Soldier and found new leadership abilities they hadn’t known they possessed.

Junior ROTC scholars compete in national competition

Junior ROTC cadets from Saint Thomas Academy in San Francisco compete in the 2009 Junior ROTC Academic Bowl. Photo by Paul Kotakis

By Paul Kotakis

Cadet Command public affairs officer

In a competition involving Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps teams from around the globe, the Cadets of Saint Thomas Academy in St. Paul, Minn., took top honors at the 2009 Junior ROTC Academic Bowl.

The competition, created exclusively for Junior ROTC Cadets by the College Options Foundation, provides the nearly 300,000 students in the Army Junior ROTC program the opportunity to showcase their academic prowess.

More than 2,100 teams participated in the initial phase of the competition, which was conducted online. Top placing teams advanced to Level II – which also was conducted online with a web/voice interactive component. The final phase of the competition, involving 72 teams, took place at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., June 26-30.