86 - Military Science Army ROTC

This course offers practical application of military skills taught in the basic and advanced courses. Hands-on training is provided in basic soldiers’ skills, squad and platoon tactics, weapons, communications and organizational leadership.

This course is an introduction to fundamental components of service for officers in the United States Army, providing the initial lessons that form the building blocks of progressive lessons in values, fitness, leadership and officership. This course also addresses life skills including fitness, communications theory and practice (written and oral); interpersonal relationships; and the ethics of Christian service. Emphasis on hands-on learning also includes instruction in map reading, orienteering, marksmanship and rappelling. Included are weekly leadership laboratories, one weekend field trip and physical training. Upon completion of this semester, cadets should be prepared to receive more complex leadership instruction.

This course builds on the fundamentals introduced in the previous semester by focusing on leadership theory and decision making. Life skills lessons include problem solving, critical thinking, leadership theory, followership, group interaction, goal setting and feedback mechanisms. Upon completion of this semester, cadets should be prepared to advance to more complex leadership instruction concerning the dynamics of organizations. Additionally, they will be required to demonstrate increasing knowledge of leadership fundamentals and communications (written and oral). Hands-on instruction in map reading, orienteering, marksmanship and rappelling is included. Weekly leadership laboratories, one weekend field trip and physical training are also required.

This course builds on the fundamentals introduced in the first year curriculum. Using practical exercise, cadets apply communications and leadership skills to solve increasingly complex problems. The course concludes with a major leadership and problem solving case study that draws on virtually all of the classroom instruction received in the first three semesters of the Basic Course. The course also includes one weekend field trip, weekly leadership laboratories and physical training. Upon completion of this semester, cadets should be well grounded in the fundamental principles of leadership and be prepared to intensify the practical application of their studies during the Advanced Course.

This is the Basic Course capstone that focuses principally on officership and provides an extensive examination of the unique purpose, roles and obligations of commissioned officers. It includes a detailed look at the origin of our institutional values and their practical application in decision making and leadership. Students are introduced to fundamentals and principles of small unit tactics. Upon completion of this semester, cadets should possess a fundamental understanding of both leadership and officership, demonstrate the ability to apply this understanding in real world situations and be excited about the aspect of shouldering the responsibility of a commissioned officer in the United States Army. One weekend field trip, weekly leadership laboratories and physical training are included.

An alternative to the Basic Course above, LTC offers students who have not considered ROTC until late in their second year the opportunity for a scholarship and entry into the Advanced Course. The sole purpose for attending LTC is to qualify for the Advanced Course. Students are contracted prior to attending and, therefore, must be American citizens to attend. LTC is a 28-day summer training course conducted at Fort Knox, Kentucky, designed to teach the fundamentals of soldiering and leadership and to enhance personal confidence using practical, hands-on exercises including land navigation, rifle marksmanship, first aid, individual and unit tactics, obstacle courses and rappelling. Military pay is provided.

The focus of instruction in this course is on leadership competencies using small unit operations as the primary mode of instruction. Cadets assume leadership positions within the Rolling Thunder Battalion and actually apply the theory they have learned in the Basic Course by planning and executing small unit training. The semester begins with instruction in the Leadership Development Process (LDP) used throughout the academic year and at LDAC to assess and develop leadership skills. Cadets focus on troop leading procedures, motivational theory, small unit training, operations orders and risk assessment. The course includes weekly leadership laboratories, one weekend field trip, and physical training.

This course is a continuation of 86-331, emphasizing doctrinal leadership and tactical operations at the small unit level. It includes opportunities to plan and conduct individual and collective skill training for offensive operations to gain leadership and tactical experience. This critical semester synthesizes the various components of training, leadership and team building taught over the last three years, and prepares cadets for their summer experience at LDAC. The course includes weekly leadership laboratories, one weekend field trip, and physical training.

An Advanced Course requirement, LDAC provides an opportunity to live and work with other cadets from around the country for 32 days at Fort Lewis, Washington. Approximately 5,000 cadets nationwide attend each year. LDAC is a performance-based environment in which cadets can exercise their leadership skills in a variety of field and garrison activities, and cadre can assess leadership potential. Military pay is provided.

In this advanced three-week practicum for leadership development in nursing, nurses train at one of several Army hospitals throughout the United States and Europe. The program is optional for Army ROTC Advanced Course Nursing students after completing 86-335 (LDAC). Military pay, transportation, and room and board are provided.

Focusing on leadership, management and ethics, this course begins the final transition from cadet to lieutenant. This course focuses cadets, early in the year, on attaining apprentice level knowledge and proficiency in several critical areas they will need to operate effectively as Army officers, including coordinating activities with staffs, counseling theory and practice within the Army context, training management and ethics. Cadets continue to sharpen these skills as they perform their roles as cadet officers in the Rolling Thunder Battalion and after commissioning. At the end of this semester cadets should possess the fundamental skills, attributes and abilities to operate as competent leaders in the cadet battalion and confidently communicate to subordinate cadets their preparedness to shoulder the responsibilities entrusted to them. The course includes weekly leadership laboratories, one weekend field trip and physical training.

A continuation of 86-441, this course completes the transition from cadet to lieutenant. As a follow-up to the ethics instruction in JO Leadership I, this course starts with a foundation in the legal aspects of decision making and leadership. The next modules reinforce previous instruction on the organization of the Army, introduce how we organize for operations from the tactical to the strategic level, and introduce administrative and logistical management issues that focus on the fundamentals of soldier and unit level support. The final module that introduces new information focuses on the often-confusing process of changing duty stations and reporting to a new unit. Upon completion of this semester the cadets will be prepared to shoulder the responsibility of being a commissioned officer in the United States Army. The course includes weekly leadership laboratories, one weekend field trip, and physical training.