Forging Professionals

United States Army Cadets at the Leader Development and Assessment Course, also known as Operation Warrior Forge, survey the training area during a patrolling exercise. Photo by J.M. Simpson. Used by permission.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — The Leader Development and Assessment Course, also known as Operation Warrior Forge, is U.S. Army Cadet Command’s flagship training and assessment exercise held here each summer. Every Army ROTC Cadet hoping to pin on the gold bar of an Army lieutenant must successfully complete Warrior Forge. After graduation, most attendees will go back to their colleges or universities to finish their degrees and then be commissioned. Some Cadets, having completed all other commissioning requirements, will receive their gold bars on the parade field during the graduation ceremony.

Warrior Forge is a 29-day odyssey in leadership and Soldiering skills. This summer, 14 regiments will take part in the course — with nearly 500 cadets in each regiment.

From the moment Cadets arrive at Joint Base Lewis-McChord they are challenged to excel. From the Army Physical Fitness Test held within the first few days of a Cadet’s arrival, to the ultimate challenge of managing a patrol squad in the field as events unfold without warning, Cadets are put through their paces and evaluated for their fitness to lead American Soldiers.

What Is This Training All About?

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — The mission of the Leader Development and Assessment Course is to train U.S. Army ROTC cadets to Army standards and to develop leadership and evaluate officer potential. This is accomplished through a tiered training structure using light infantry tactics as the instructional medium.

Maneuver Training

The Warrior Forge training program is sequential and progressive. It starts with individual training and leads to collective training, building from simple to complex tasks. This building-block approach permits integration of previously-learned skills into follow-on training. This logical, common-sense training sequence is maintained for each training cycle. Every day at LDAC is a day of training. Below are some highlights:

Land Navigation – Days 6/7, 8/9

Land Navigation training must be mastered early in the camp cycle for the cadets to be fully successful in the tactical training which follows. The Land Navigation evaluation consists of three events totaling 100 points. The written examination is worth 20 percent. The day Land Navigation test is worth 50 percent. The night Land Navigation test is worth 30 percent. Each cadet must earn 70 percent on each test to pass this event. A passing score in Land Navigation is a camp-completion criterion. Prior to Land Navigation cadets will learn field craft while living and sleeping in the woods. They will set up field expedient shelters using ponchos and whatever else is available. They’ll learn how to maintain noise, light and litter discipline.

Rappel Training

Attending the LDAC Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony

New 2nd Lt. Ashley Bailey is congratulated following her commissioning at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., at the conclusion of the 2011 Leader Development and Assessment Course. U.S. Army photo by Al Zdarsky

Every graduation ceremony will be live-streamed on
our Ustream channel at http://ustre.am/3nmd starting 9 a.m. PST

Successful completion of Warrior Forge is perhaps the single most significant event in the multi-year Cadet leadership development process. As a result, family and friends of all graduates and commissionees are cordially invited to attend the graduation and commissioning ceremonies.

All graduations and commissioning ceremonies will be conducted on Watkins Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s main post at 9:00 a.m. on the dates listed below. This is an hour-long outdoor ceremony, so please come prepared for the weather.

Graduation and commissioning ceremonies, by regiment for Warrior Forge, are:

• 1st and 2nd Regiments: July 9
• 3rd and 4th Regiments: July 13
• 5th and 6th Regiments: July 17
• 7th and 8th Regiments: July 21
• 9th and 10th Regiments: July 26
• 11th and 12th Regiments: July 30
• 13th and 14th Regiments: August 3

Contact!

If you have general questions about LDAC, please peruse the information posted on this web site. If you can’t find the answer here, contact your Cadet. If that doesn’t work, contact your Cadet’s ROTC battalion at the school he or she attends and ask the cadre. Finally, if you can’t find the information you need, contact us at warriorforge.pao@gmail.com.

We will be posting most necessary information on this site as it becomes available.

By the way, we’re also on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/warriorforge/
and Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/LDAC2012/.

You can also follow our live streaming video channel. We’ll be using this platform during Warrior Forge this year so that family, friends, and fans can see what this training is all about. Check it out here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/warriorforgelive. A schedule of coverage will be available soon.

To send snail mail to Cadets:

Cadet Lastname, Firstname
Warrior Forge
x REG, x CO, x PLT
PO Box 339543
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA 98433-9543

(x=the respective regiment, company, and platoon designator. If you don’t know this, just leave it blank.)