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It was not the usual summer reprieve from classes for government major Caleb Nerstad '05. One of 250 cadets in the month-long Army Leadership Training Course at Fort Knox, Ky., days started at 4:30 a.m., filled with a rigorous gauntlet of water training, weapons training, land navigation, small-unit tactics employing paintball guns, and five-mile marches with 40-pound packs. If that wasn't stressful enough, there stood one last hurdle before he was excused for home: living in the field for six days.
Nerstad, now starting his junior year at CMC and a recent recruit to the ROTC program, says those first few days in Kentucky were particularly frustrating. He had arrived a newcomer (although both grandfathers fought in World War II), while most of the other cadets had some contact with the military, either as enlistees, or as ROTC or military school students. But rather than be intimidated, Nerstad says he adjusted well by listening, observing, and asking questions. He quickly identified those cadets he felt he would be well to model his actions after, while simultaneously learning from the mistakes of others.
The cadets, he says, rotated through leadership positions. Each afternoon, the next day's leaders would be briefed on the following day's activities, and were responsible for having their units ready for the activity at 5:30 a.m. The cadets were then evaluated by their peers, and by the officers conducting the training.
By the time it was over, Nerstad not only succeeded, he took home the camp's Bold Leader Award for his leadership performance, a feat he attributes to his CMC education. "CMC prepared me for the training, and is preparing me for life after graduation, by having to be prepared for class, having to think on my feet, being able to understand the responses of others, and," he says, "being able to articulate and defend my own thoughts."
The leadership training course is an alternative to participating in ROTC in a student's first two years of college, and was a valuable opportunity for Nerstad to explore his interests in post-graduation military service, he says. By enrolling in ROTC in time for his junior and senior years, he still has the chance to enter the Army as an officer. Other appealing aspects of the program, despite the risk of being deployed for war, include the pay and benefits (factoring in travel, housing, and medical care) and the chance to further his leadership skills, he says.
Does he fear being shipped out for combat?
"Only in extraordinary circumstances do extraordinary people rise to the challenge," Nerstad says.
In addition to his full course load and ROTC, he is a corner back on the CMS Stags football team. Despite an injury early in the season, he was a starter and a second-team all-league all-star last year, and regained the starter role this year. He also is president of the Ski and Snowboard Club.
Nerstad says the Leadership Training Course and experiences in ROTC are similar to the comradery and teamwork developed on the football team: members depend on each other to carry out specific assignments for the good of the team. ROTC, he says, has also sharpened his organizational skills.
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When Caleb Nerstad '05 won the Bold Leader Award following a month-long Army Leadership Training Course at Fort Knox, Ky., this summer, it was no small feat. ROTC commander Lt. Col. Mike Murphy says the nature of the award really implies that Nerstad was "the number one cadet in the whole camp."
Nerstad's grandfathers both served in the armed forces. Their stories, he says, shaped his opinions about potentially being sent to war-- a risk he says he doesn't fear. ROTC students meet Fridays, from 7 a.m. to noon, for both classroom and field experiences.
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