United States Air Force Academy - Polaris Yearbook (Colorado Springs, CO)

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OUR AIR OFFICERS COMMANDING: GROUP I ' 1st Group AOC Lt. Col. Charles L. Pike

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in the Armed Forces. They are profession- al in every sense of the word. They Itnow their material, and their leadership is by example. The instruction is excellent and the facilities are unequalled anywhere. The course itself is divided into roughly six areas. I say roughly because the areas overlap. These areas are: 1) Academics, 2) Land Navigation, 3) PT, 4) Mountaineering, 5) Weapons, 6) Patroll- ing. The academics last for six days in the classroom. Everything from map reading to ambush techniques is taught. Everyth- ing that will happen in the field is covered in the classroom. Physical Training is a unique exper- ience. If you have never been up at dark thirty hours (0430) to run four miles you haven ' t lived. The real challenge of PT is walking, or trying to walk, 12 minute miles with a 50 pound sandbag on your back. The army can ' t run, but it sure as heck can walk, and walk, and walk, and walk. Land Navigation is a challenge for the mind as well as the body. You must find four, 50 gallon drums in the light of day and two in no light. The distance between checkpoints could be anywhere from 2000 to 5000 meters. The real test comes when the sun goes down. When there is no moon, the woods around Red Devil become a nightmare to travel through. Everytime you turn around or take a step you stumble over something. Mountaineering is probably the most satisfying and fun part of the course. Two days are spent downrange repelling, going across rope bridges, and being hauled up a wall of rock. The repels are completed off of a 45 foot and then a 90 foot cliff, with your favorite sandbag on your back. The rope bridge is done across a 70 foot gap in the rocks, again with your trusty sandbag. Finally, the vertical haul is done up 30 feet of rock wall, with, you guessed it, your sandbag. You finish the two days blistered and sore, but with a better idea of who you are and what you are capable of doing. The weapons range is something else. You fire the M-60 machine gun, the M-16 rifle, and M-72 Light Anti-tank Weapon (LAW), and the M-72 Claymore Mine. You learn to have a healthy respect for these tools of destruction. Patrolling is the final phase of the training. When you are out on patrol all the things that you were taught in the classroom start to make sense. Patrolling is the real test of your personality and character. Everyone is allowed the chance to lead the patrol in a simulated combat environment. What you do when someone is ambushing your patrol, when you are attacking a position and the smoke and tear-gas are blinding you, and the weapons and explosions are going off all around you, can make or break your patrol. This leadership chance is the real purpose behind RECONDO. The chance to lead under pressure is not something very many people have an opportunity to do. But once you have done it, you can be proud of yourself, for having pushed yourself and given it your best. You then wear the RECONDO badge with your chest out, showing everyone that you are a cut above the rest. RECONDO!! One of the most difficult aspects of RECONDO Is repelling.

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OUR LEADERS, ROLE MODELS and DISCIPLINARIANS CROUP