The Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) is the centerpiece of the US Army's Reserve Officers' Training Corps

Reserve Officers' Training Corps

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...

 (ROTC) program. Over the last 40 years the Army has called it "Advanced Camp", "Camp Adventure", and it is currently known as "Warrior Forge". Within ROTC, it is often referred to simply as "Camp", or by other creative nicknames such as "LDACistan", or "LOLdac". It is conducted only during the summer months (June, July, and August) at Fort Lewis, WA. LDAC is normally attended by cadets between their junior and senior years of college although the last rotation consists of soldiers in the OCS (Officer Candidate School

Officer Candidate School

Officer Candidate School or Officer Cadet School are institutions which train civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country....

) program.

The course totals 29 consecutive days of training and testing in common soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

 skills. Days 1-4 are dedicated to in-processing paperwork

Paperwork

Paperwork is a term used to describe excessive, intricate or meticulous work with documents in an unnecessary and incidental way to more important tasks.- United States Paperwork Reduction Act :...

 and getting to know your squad and platoon. Days 5-11 are focused on the individual training tasks such as: the Physical Training (PT) test, land navigation (day and night), grenade

Grenade

A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...

 assault course

Assault course

An assault course is a special sort of trail that combines running and exercising. It was more popular in the 1970s than it is now. It is heavily used in military training...

, rappelling, radio procedures, US weapons, Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE), cultural awareness, field craft, and tactics. Days 12-13 are geared towards team and squad training with Field Leadership and Reaction Course (FLRC) and first aid

First aid

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...

. Day 14 is dedicated to soldier and equipment preparation for the upcoming “deployment.” Days 15-22 cadets are deployed to conduct 4 days Squad Situational Training Exercises (STX) and 2 days of Patrolling consisting of two full squads (three missions per day). Day 23 is started off by an early 10K victory march back to the barracks

Barracks

Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...

 where cadets clean and turn in their M16

M16 rifle

The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...

s, clean their equipment, and recover. Days 24-29 are final assessments (water confidence course included), retesting any failures for land navigation and the PT test (if you do not pass on the second time they will send you home on day 27), and finally graduation

Graduation

Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...

.

Typically, the training is only a refresher

Refresher

Refresher, in English legal phraseology, a further or additional fee paid to counsel where a case is adjourned from one term or sitting to another, or where it extends over more than one day and occupies, either on the first day or partly on the first and partly on a subsequent day or days, more...

 of what the cadets should have already learned at their individual schools, and is meant to act as a leveler as all the cadets come from different backgrounds. The main goal is to assess and evaluate the tactical and garrison

Garrison

Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....

 knowledge learned during the first three years in ROTC. The formal training is conducted by the active duty officers and non-commissioned officer

Non-commissioned officer

A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...

s (NCOs), but garrison (day to day) activities are run by the cadets who rotate through leadership positions such as: Squad Leader (SL), Platoon Sergeant (PSG), Platoon Leader (PL), First Sergeant (1SG), Executive Officer (XO), or Company Commander (CO). These leaders are responsible for completing specific tasks depending on their position title, and could include such tasks as making sure barracks are clean and that subordinates are present, on time, and have all the equipment required for scheduled training. The cadets are encouraged to hold formations as necessary, march the formations (while reciting different marching and running cadence

Cadence (music)

In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...

s), perform inspections, and conduct extra training to better prepare cadets for upcoming events.

All the training before day 15 is to prepare for a simulated deployment

Military deployment

Military deployment is the movement of armed forces and their logistical support infrastructure around the world.-United States:The United States Military defines the term as follows:...

 to a fictional nation that changes each year. The 2010 LDAC regiments were deployed to Atropia, said to be located in the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

, where the inhabitants speak Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 but have culture and customs similar those of Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 and Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. In Atropia, the cadets' mission was to conduct peacekeeping

Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....

 missions while fighting an insurgency

Insurgency

An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...

 known as the SAPA (Southern Atropia People's Army) in order to stabilize the nation of Atropia. This "deployment" is an eight day field training exercise during which the cadets run six combat missions each day during SSTX, then link up with a predetermined squad to conduct patrolling operations. Missions can include attacks, ambush

Ambush

An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...

es, reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

, react to contact, knock out a bunker

Bunker

A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...

, and all the variables that are associated. Variable lanes can include, but are not limited to, media on the battlefield, enemy surrender

Surrender (military)

Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...

, indirect contact, etc. During SSTX companies will stay in either Tactical Training Base (TTB) East or West, depending on your assignment. The one night between patrolling is spent in a tactical patrol base where fireguard should be alert throughout the night as many bases are “attacked” (TAC dependent). Squads only have the clothes and equipment that they can carry on their backs, and receive resupply of only water and meals ready-to-eat (MRE

MRE

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat — commonly known as the MRE — is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available...

s) each day.

For cadets the LDAC experience revolves around evaluation

Evaluation

Evaluation is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.Evaluation often is used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice,...

s that are received in various leadership

Leadership

Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

 positions. They receive a minimum of six evaluations: 2 in garrison (1 at a squad level and one at platoon or company level), 2 as Squad Leaders during Squad Tactical Exercises (referred to as STX Lanes, 1 evaluation is a normal STX lane, and the other is a "variable" lane where the mission is changed halfway through), 1 during Patrolling Exercises (which can be as PL, PSG, or SL), and one as a leader in an FLRC course (an obstacle course

Obstacle course

An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual or team must navigate usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with the aim of testing speed and endurance. Sometimes a course...

 in which a leader has to maneuver his squad through the obstacle and brief a five paragraph operations order in half an hour). A grade of E (Exceeds the Standard), S (Satisfies the Standard), or N (Needs Improvement) is given for 17 "Dimensions of Leadership" which makes up an overall grade for the position. At the end of LDAC the cadets receive an overall grade of E, S, or N for their entire 29 days. This final grade is determined primarily by their leadership evaluations, but also by two peer evaluations, PT score, land navigation score, and a TAC evaluation. Cadets who received at least 3/6 Es overall, as well as 9/17 dimensional Es, receives an overall E for camp.

The average grading for LDAC is approximately 18% of cadets receive an overall E, while 70-80% received an S, and 5-10% receives an N. The cadets also receive additional credit for being one of the top five cadets in their platoon (consisting of 40 to 50 cadets) and for meeting "Recondo

Recondo

Recondo is an American military term for a combination of RECONnaissance and DOughboy special training or a graduate of a Recondo school.-History:...

" requirements. To earn Recondo, cadets must:

1. Execute all confidence training presented to the prescribed standard, to include water safety tasks.
2. Have no non-medical waiver
   Waiver
   A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.While a waiver is often in writing, sometimes a person's actions can act as a waiver. An example of a written waiver is a disclaimer, which becomes a waiver when accepted...
   
   s on any event throughout LDAC.
3. Score 270 or above on the Army Physical Fitness Test, without retest, with a minimum of 90 points per event.
4. Achieve a score of 80 percent on written and practical Land Navigation proficiency tests without retest.
5. Complete the following First Aid tasks to specified standards: CPR, evaluate a casualty, manage the airway, and control bleeding.
6. Pass both Squad STX lane evaluations with a minimum rating of satisfactory or higher.
7. Successfully complete Warrior Forge without a performance waiver. Medical wavers are acceptable.
8. Receive satisfactory or higher summary ratings for all 16 scored leadership dimensions and values, as reported on the Cadet Command Form 67-9, Cadet Evaluation Report.
9. Meet height/weight or body fat standards IAW AR 600-9.

The additional credit that cadets receive at LDAC goes into their accessions packet used to determine their National Order of Merit List (OML) ranking. Cadets list their preferences for their assigned Army branches and duty stations; upon graduation, the OML ranking is the criteria by which those assignments are made, with the most sought-after assignments going to the highest ranked cadets.