In the Army ROTC Razorback Brigade, the cadets achieve a lot during the school year between their classes, their ROTC physical training (exercising) and military leadership training and other obligations. During the summer, a lot of the cadets keep busy with additional ROTC training and other activities. This story gives you an idea of what the U of A Army ROTC cadets were up to this summer.

Twenty-one cadets attended Advanced Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky, this summer, five of whom graduated in the top 15 percent of their class, earning for themselves the rating of Outstanding. Two of those cadets, Cadet Elena Chavez and Cadet Trevor Larson, were ranked number one in their class. Five more cadets earned the rating of Excellent. Advanced camp is a month-long rigorous camp that trains and evaluates our future officers in the U.S. Army. Cadets prepare their whole Junior year for this event and always perform well.

At least 10 cadets attended Basic Camp at Fort Knox, a month-long event of training on the basics of being an officer in the Army. Cadet William Coats earned the ApexTech Warrior Award while attending Basic Camp. The award is given to the cadet who best demonstrates "comprehension of diplomatic approaches and the fundamentals of leadership and team building."

Five cadets participated in the Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency program in the countries of Malawi, Rwanda, Lithuania, Guatamala and Burkina Faso. One cadet went to Jordan through the Project Go program.

Cadet Jacob Self and Cadet Andrew Stengel earned their Airborne patch in a three week Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. To graduate, you must make five jumps frrom a C-130 or C-141 airplane with one jump being at night and two combat jumps with full combat gear. It's both challenging and fun.

Although not ROTC related, it is noteworthy that Cadet Susannah Gray earned an internship with the FBI in Washington, D.C., over the summer and is now doing an internship with the FBI in Fort Smith and Fayetteville. Cadet Wyatt Carson did an internship with Slayton Law Firm in Jonesboro over the summer, as well.

Other notable non-ROTC events were the weddings of two cadets. Cadet Gabriel Bogdanoff and Cadet Christian Bradley married their brides in August. Congratulations to all four of them.

If you are a student at the Fayetteville campus of the University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, John Brown University, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, or Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and you are interested in more information about the Army ROTC program, come see us at the Army ROTC building, located between the Graduate Education Building and Memorial Hall on Maple Street or visit the Army ROTC website at armyrotc.uark.edu.