The ROTC program held its semesterly field training exercise (FTX) at South Mountain Reservation over the weekend.
The two day exercise allowed cadets to participate in activities designed to build soldiering skills and develop unity within the battalion.
"The FTX is meant to reinforce the lessons the cadets have been learning in the classroom through- out the semester," Cadet Joe Donato said. "It also gave us an opportunity to build camaraderie and connect with the South Orange, Maplewood and Millburn communities."
The exercise began on Friday morning with the cadets completing Columbia High School's obstacle course.
After the event, they embarked on a march to South Mountain, where they conducted day and nighttime land navigation activities.
On Saturday, the cadets were split into their squads and platoons to take part in situational training exercises where they had hands-on experience with the combat tactics.
The weekend ended with a company barbecue and a review of the previous two days.
According to senior cadets who planned the event, the weekend went as expected, with the exception of a short delay and a handful of minor injuries Friday.
"We got off to a little bit of a rocky start, but we caught up and everything went really smoothly," Cadet Matt Chapman, battalion commander said.
The Pirate Company will hold its next FTX in the spring semester, as well as joint FTX where they will train with other schools' ROTC programs from across the Northeast.
Joe Grogan can be reached at joseph.grogan@student.shu.edu.
