ROTC cadets train at the V.I. National Guard Estate Bethlehem Military Compound between April 5-7. Photo Credit: VING
Over the weekend, cadets from the University of Mayaguez in Puerto Rico joined their counterparts from St. Thomas and St. Croix for what the University of the Virgin Islands Reserve Officer Training Program called a groundbreaking joint training exercise.
From April 5 through 7, the first UVI ROTC Joint Field Training Exercise took cadets through a program that fused classroom theory and field expertise. Participants were able to develop squad and platoon tactics skills, with the program designed to seamlessly transition them from theoretical discussions to hands-on applications in the field. The physical fitness component to the training was intense, pushing cadets to their limits and strengthening minds and bodies alike into “resilient instruments of strength,” according to a press statement from the UVI ROTC program.
Military training blended with cultural education, as the group toured Fort Christian and Fort Frederik guided by famed local historian Olasee Davis in an exercise designed to connect the cadets with Virgin Islands heritage.
The first ever joint training exercise was supported by the V.I. National Guard, and marked “a new era of collaboration and excellence,” according to the statement from UVI ROTC.
College students or high school seniors preparing for college with interest in joining the senior ROTC program are invited to contact Christa Mathurin ([email protected]) or Nancy Ramos ([email protected]) for more information.
