Arrival at Camp.
15 June 2014. We have arrived at camp . . . there are 122 of us. Some of us came by car, some by plane, but most of us came by bus. We came from Ansbach, Bamberg, Baumholder, Hohenfels, Schweinfurt, Patch, Wiesbaden, Vicenza, Bitburg, Kaiserslautern, Naples, Rota and right next door in Vilseck. We are mostly Army, but a couple of us are Navy and Air Force. Most of us live in Germany, but cadets from two of our schools live in Italy and cadets from one school live in Spain. We came together at the same time and place for the same purpose . . . the US Army Cadet Command Junior ROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge.
On the first day we were met by our Battalion Commander & Command Sergeant Major; and by our Company Commander and Company First Sergeant. They were the first ones to start barking orders for us to get off the bus, to get our gear, to dash over to the reception center to check in, to get our initial issue of gear and find our barracks and bunk. Our First Sergeants were waiting for us with bunk assignments and instructions on how to put our wall lockers together. Wow! We moved real fast that day and got a lot accomplished. (Except for the S1 and the nurse, this whole operation was run by the cadet leadership. All the adults just stood around.)
Our barracks were provided by the Bundeswehr . . . that's the German military . . . specifically these were provided by the German Army. They are pretty nice actually; bunk beds with a Bettdecke (that's a blanket) and pillow and each of us has a pretty high speed wall locker with lots of space. There's a toilet in the building for emergencies, but for "normal" ops and showers, we have to hoof it across the street to a pretty nice latrine.
Finally most of us are here (two cadets from Rota had to fly to Madrid, first, then to Munich to be picked up by the DAI; they got in late . . . after supper . . . but they are here!); Platoon Leaders, Platoon Sergeants, Squad Leaders and Platoon Medics have been assigned . . . they will switch over in three days time. Platoons are 15 cadets strong; two platoons per company . . . there's a TAC (active or reserve NCO) per platoon and a TAC (JROTC instructor) per company. Everybody will get a lot of opportunity to lead during this encampment. Check us out when we return . . . see how much we will have grown!
Dinner at the Grafenwöhr Dining Facility (Armyspeak=DFac). Um, um, good! Lots to eat . . . good, hot, Army chow! After dinner the Camp Commander and the camp staff welcomed us and gave us some of the rules of the road. They told us about the busy schedule planned for the week ahead . . . no time to fuss, no time to be bored . . . just eat, adventure training and sleep.
Weather forecast for the week calls for several days of sunny, cool (read, highs 70*F or about 21*C, + or - a couple degrees) during the day, while even cooler temps will prevail in the mornings and evenings. We'll see how that works out.
On the first day we were met by our Battalion Commander & Command Sergeant Major; and by our Company Commander and Company First Sergeant. They were the first ones to start barking orders for us to get off the bus, to get our gear, to dash over to the reception center to check in, to get our initial issue of gear and find our barracks and bunk. Our First Sergeants were waiting for us with bunk assignments and instructions on how to put our wall lockers together. Wow! We moved real fast that day and got a lot accomplished. (Except for the S1 and the nurse, this whole operation was run by the cadet leadership. All the adults just stood around.)
Our barracks were provided by the Bundeswehr . . . that's the German military . . . specifically these were provided by the German Army. They are pretty nice actually; bunk beds with a Bettdecke (that's a blanket) and pillow and each of us has a pretty high speed wall locker with lots of space. There's a toilet in the building for emergencies, but for "normal" ops and showers, we have to hoof it across the street to a pretty nice latrine.
Finally most of us are here (two cadets from Rota had to fly to Madrid, first, then to Munich to be picked up by the DAI; they got in late . . . after supper . . . but they are here!); Platoon Leaders, Platoon Sergeants, Squad Leaders and Platoon Medics have been assigned . . . they will switch over in three days time. Platoons are 15 cadets strong; two platoons per company . . . there's a TAC (active or reserve NCO) per platoon and a TAC (JROTC instructor) per company. Everybody will get a lot of opportunity to lead during this encampment. Check us out when we return . . . see how much we will have grown!
Dinner at the Grafenwöhr Dining Facility (Armyspeak=DFac). Um, um, good! Lots to eat . . . good, hot, Army chow! After dinner the Camp Commander and the camp staff welcomed us and gave us some of the rules of the road. They told us about the busy schedule planned for the week ahead . . . no time to fuss, no time to be bored . . . just eat, adventure training and sleep.
Weather forecast for the week calls for several days of sunny, cool (read, highs 70*F or about 21*C, + or - a couple degrees) during the day, while even cooler temps will prevail in the mornings and evenings. We'll see how that works out.
This is no ordinary camp . . .
this is the JROTC Europe Summer Camp . . .
this is JCLC Europe!
this is the JROTC Europe Summer Camp . . .
this is JCLC Europe!
Here's a short video showing what goes on during the first day of JCLC Europe.