Zachary J Briggs (#199896)
Employer: US Army ROTC
Supervisor: SFC Nathan Haynes
Nhaynes@bradley.edu
ROTC Office, 1500 W Bradley Ave
Peoria, IL 61625
(309) 351-2830

PART 2: Reflection Paper
I spent the last semester working as the XO, or executive officer, the second in command, of the Army ROTC program here at Bradley. Our program consists of 20 cadets, and fluctuates in size rather often, with cadets dropping and joining on their own accord. The only cadets that must stay in the program are those who have either been contracted, and will be commissioning at the end of their 4 years, or those who came to college under a 4 year Federal ROTC scholarship. Our history is rather short, as we have only been established at the university for 4 years now, and my class (MSIVs) was the “birth” of the program. We have commissioned a total of 4 cadets thus far, and will be commissioning 4 more in the spring of 2014. The program has been growing in size every year, and shows promise to continue its growth in coming years with additional support by the university. Our host battalion is Illinois State University, with a program size of around 80. We report our actions and plans daily to our higher command, as they are ultimately responsible for everything we do and do not accomplish. Our purpose here on campus is producing quality US Army officers that are proficient in both academic standing and tactical knowledge. The secondary goals of the program are to participate in as many campus building events as possible, from volunteering, to playing intermural sports, and fundraising. We develop cadets by holding daily events ranging from Physical Training (PT) to Ranger Challenge training (RC) and weekly labs. These field labs are used to drive home and give a real world example to what the cadets have learned in their classes throughout the week. For example a cadet in the MS1 class may learn in his or her about movement tactics and how a textbook raid is to be performed then, in lab, they will gather at 0530 at Williams hall, and be bused out to Laura Bradley Park. They will instantly begin preforming battle drills and applying what they know to real life situations simulated by the seniors. Once the lab is complete, cadets will be given an AAR or after action report, which highlights what they did well on and what needs more work. The layout of the program is focused on exponential leadership demands and responsibilities, just as in the real Army. As first year cadets, your role is simply to learn. You have to quickly pick up and be able to apply basic individual skills such as firing your rifle, Land Navigation, PT test standards aswell as how to move tactically as part of your team and squad. As a Second year cadet, you are responsible for the knowledge and the physical fitness level of everything you gained in your MS1 year. You also must begin learning how to develop and write an OPORD, or an operations order. These are used as a method of planning and communication throughout the army, and are a detailed way to convey your method. OPORDs are challenging to learn and will never be mastered, as the higher you travel up the rank structure the more in components they will entail. MS2s will create OPORDs for all of their assigned tasks such as planning fundraisers, writing PT plans, organizing campus recruiting events, and managing the programs special teams (Ranger Challenge, Color Guard, and GAFBMP). Junior year in the program is by far the hardest, and most demanding, as you are being evaluated at all times, on all leadership positions. Throughout the year they will be leading Labs, PT sessions, and will have assigned roles at multiple Field Training Exercises, or FTXs. At the end of their junior year they will attend a 4 week camp named LDAC (Leadership Development and Assessment Course) to test if they have what it takes to commission as an officer in the year following. If one fails LDAC,