Warrior Forge (LDAC) Keys to Success
What to Bring:
What NOT to bring:
Pre-LDAC Preparation:
Day-to-Day Breakdown:
DISCLAIMER: This breakdown is based on LDAC 2004 and, as you know, there have been a few changes made for LDAC 2005. The basics are all the same; you’ll have to ruck a few more times in the field and combatives training and MOUT have been added.
- Make sure your gear is all squared-away a week or two in advance just in case you are missing something; don’t wait last minute!
- Get a good night’s sleep the night before your flight.
- Remind your parents, friends, and significant other that you will not have frequent access to a phone, but tell them to write letters and send snacks! Great morale booster! Share with your buddies too.
- Call your parents when you arrive safely at Fort Lewis (before they take away your cell phone).
- Be prepared to stand at parade rest for a long time and shuffle through in-processing lines all day. You will be asked 100 questions twice each so that the cadre and staff can ascertain the simple facts that you are present and you have all of your gear.
- Prepare to be in a leader’s position and step up to the plate.
- Fire-guard duty starts on Day 1.
- Fire drill @ 0345 – they play mind games to see how mentally tough you are.
Expect it.
- DODMERB all over again.
- Long lines, long waits.
- It sucks, just drive on.
- Good opportunities to break the ice with your squad and platoon. Get to know their names, schools, interests, etc – it will help you lead/follow them in the days/weeks to come.
- Speaks for itself.
- The MS III staff has prepared you for this. You are ready.
- Do your best, focus on form, don’t waste energy with bad pushups – they will not count.
- Pass it, know that a lot of your buddies are going to be upset, pick ‘em up and help ‘em drive on.
- Leadership evaluation begins.
- Just pee in a cup and don’t miss. Don’t shoot blanks either. Drink water.
- If you fail (i.e., “piss hot” b/c of drugs) the Urinalysis, you’re gone and out of the Army. No joke.
- CWST = too easy. You’ve executed 2 this year. Too easy.
- Rehearse for 3-4 hours; execute a 30-minute ceremony.
- Stand at attention and parade rest for the whole time.
- Don’t lock out your knees and drink water!
- Make sure your boots are spit-shined and your uniform is pressed.
Day 6: Branch Orientation (Specific day is Regiment-dependent)
- You most likely have an idea of your top branch choice(s) – focus your initial research and attention on these.
- Go to BO with 1 or 2 branches that you initially did not even consider – go to their presentations and you may learn something new about the branch and it could help you when you want to fill out your branch selection sheet.
- BO is an easy day, but take advantage of the resources available (i.e., the officers presenting and the literature provided)
Day 7: Field Leadership Reaction Course (FLRC)
- Single best piece of advice: ALWAYS STAY MISSION-FOCUSED
- What does this mean? Do not get caught up in the variables and the distractions. Just understand the basic mission statement: what is the objective?
- For example: If the mission is to set up a radio communications tower on the other side of an obstacle (e.g., a blown out bridge), there is no need to plan to get your whole squad across the obstacle; only as many cadets needed to get the radio commo equipment across and set-up.
- You have been well-trained in the OPORDER; trust your training.
- Remember: stay tactical, maintain security, utilize your team leaders, and when in charge – take charge!
- Pay attention to the classes given – the instructors assume you know nothing about landnav.
- Study the sand table – it is the most extensive, accurate, and high-speed sand table you will see as a cadet.
- Notice important pieces of terrain and main roads, paths, and checkpoints.
- Utilize attack points!!! Do not dead reckon.
- You will be able to determine your pace count on-site. Your pace count is your key to success on the landnav course.
- Great training and a lot of fun.
- Do not pay attention to PFC Patton who will yell at you and be on a power trip the whole day.
- Execute all the obstacles; do not quit; no fear.
- Too easy.
- Follow the 4 basics of marksmanship
- Keep your muzzle up and down range
- Listen to the instructors.
- NBC fire and night-fire are awesome (night-fire feels like the 4th of July)
- Great day of learning about indirect fires
- Make sure to wear earplugs at all times
- You will learn everything about being a FA officer
- Experience some of the awesome firepower that the US Army can bring to bear on its enemy
- Establish S.O.Ps
- Chance to teach a block of instruction – Patrol Base occupation, range cards, eval. a casualty, etc.
- Buddy Aid replaces MOPP training for you guys (consider yourself lucky)
- Drink water.
- The chamber sucks for some and is a breeze for others. The discomfort does not last more than 5 minutes and you will feel like a million bucks after that.
- Drink water!
- Be prepared to low-crawl, high-crawl, fire and maneuver all day
- Expect to be spitting blackish-brown saliva by the middle of the day
- Focus is on buddy team movements and fire team movements
- Packing rucks
- SOPs for the packing list will change at least 5 times – just another FRAGO, adjust, and drive on.
- The prior service cadets have some great knowledge and wisdom – tap this resource.
- Only a little over a week in the field without a hot meal or a shower à it is not that bad; many cadets have gone before you and they got through it, so can you.
- Be positive, keep a positive attitude even under the worst conditions.
- “Eternal optimism is a force multiplier” – Gen. Colin Powell
- The orders process and TLPs determine 80% of your evaluation
- Be confident, make decisions (any decision is better than no decision), and utilize your team leaders
- Have fun too – utilize the down time to share war stories with buddies, talk about home, share some funny stories with LDAC up to that point, help your fire guard buddy stay awake.
- If your buddy asks you to be recorder, do your best to help him/her out. Be recorder as much as possible when you are not in leadership à it helps to stay involved in the missions and avoids sleeping/eating when you are not supposed to, and it helps the whole ordeal go by quickly.
- If you are not in leadership, your main goal is to do whatever it takes to make your leadership look good à for example, do not be the cadet that is eating while pulling security or sleeping when pulling fire guard b/c your buddy suffers more than you do.
- A whole lot of paperwork but the light is at the end of the tunnel.
- Cadet Eval. Report (CER) = part of your accessions packet; your TACs evaluation of your leadership potential, leadership dimension, and where you fall in the platoon ranking.
- Graduation = self-explanatory.
- Traveling home or to follow-on training: DO NOT GET CAUGHT DRINKING IN THE SEA-TAC AIRPORT! BETTER YET, DO NOT DRINK IN SEA-TAC AIRPORT. IF YOU GET CAUGHT, THEY CAN/WILL REMOVE YOU FROM THE ROTC PROGRAM. Wait until you get to your home airport or the O-Club at your follow-on training to have a drink.
Overall advice:
*You are ready for LDAC. You have been trained well and you have worked hard. Never quit, stay positive, stay professional, but most of all, have fun and enjoy the time you have at LDAC. Most of you will look back on your LDAC experience with fond memories.
Good Luck! Go Army!
The MS III Staff (2004-2005)