(St. George, UT) – The Dixie State College Army ROTC, along with cadets from the Southern Utah University Army ROTC unit, will take part in a two-day semester capstone field training exercise (FTX) in the Bloomington desert this weekend. The cadets will be transported to the FTX site in a pair of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, which will land and depart from the DSC campus just south of the Jeffrey R. Holland Centennial Commons this Friday morning at 9 a.m.,

According to retired U.S. Major James Dupras, who serves a DSC ROTC senior military science instructor, the two-day FTX will incorporate all lessons learned in the classroom and field labs that involve military tactics, land navigation and field survival. The first day of the FTX involves an air assault insertion via Blackhawk helicopter into the Bloomington desert. After insertion, the cadets will conduct a day land navigation course where they have to find five pinpoint locations in a three-hour timed exercise. From there, the cadets will travel by foot for 10 kilometers carrying a 30-40 pound rucksack and end the day with a night land navigation course where they have to find three pinpoint locations in three hours.

Dupras added that the cadets will stay in the field overnight in a "tactical environment," and on day two of the FTX, the cadets will conduct patrolling operations which involve moving in 10 person squads in a tactical environment utilizing small unit tactics. These squads will conduct missions planned out by the squad leader, who is normally an upperclassman honing his or her tactical knowledge in preparation for an upcoming 30-day Leadership Development Assessment Course (LDAC) at Fort Lewis, Wash.

“The LDAC is a pivotal point in an Army cadet’s life,” Dupras said. “Upon successful completion of LDAC, the cadet is graded on several aspects of leadership, including GPA, physical fitness score, land navigation and patrolling to name a few. Upon graduating from DSC, cadets will become Army Officers in the Active, Guard and Reserve force.”

Dixie State’s Army ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) program was established in the fall of 2007. DSC's ROTC program is a reserve branch of Southern Utah University's program, which both run through the Utah National Guard. In addition, both DSC and SUU programs are affiliated with the active-duty ROTC program at Brigham Young University.

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program is a college-based, officer-commissioning program. It is designed as a college elective course that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning and professional ethics. Army ROTC units are organized as brigades and battalions.

For more information about the DSC Army ROTC, please contact the Major Darin Gumucio at 435-879-4754 or at gumucio@dixie.edu