2006 Incoming Cadet Orientation (ICO)
By Cadet Kassulke
Marquette Army ROTC Golden Eagle Battalion



This August, the Incoming Cadet Orientation (ICO) here at Marquette University gave the MSI class of cadets an opportunity to interact with cadre and fellow cadets as well as begin their military career in a very memorable way.

The orientation began on Sunday August 20 with a short welcome in the Marquette Gymnasium. New cadets were then able to move into their rooms in Schroeder Hall where they would be spending Sunday and Tuesday evenings. The upper classess of cadets then assisted freshman cadets and their families with moving into the permanent resident halls. Having the upper class cadets was very helpful and made moving into the halls quick and easy. That afternoon, Colonel Backus held a briefing during which all cadre members and the cadet battalion commander were introduced. That afternoon was capped off with subs in the Unit and a game of high-intensity ultimate Frisbee with all the cadets that were on campus.



The new cadets were put into the full ROTC experience right away on the second day. The morning began with the Army Physical Fitness Test at Valley Fields. That was followed by a few hours of paperwork, customs and courtesies classess, uniform and equipment issues, and drill courses in marching and saluting. The cadets, cadre members, and senior cadet leadership then got on buses and vans and drove to Volk Field, an Air Force base in Camp Douglass, WI. The evening was a fun night of barbecue, softball, and a shooting simulation range.

Tuesday morning the new cadets were up early for breakfast and then were bussed to the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC) training facility. The LRCs are obstacle courses, some on land and some over water, each one having individual missions or tasks to complete. The cadets were divided into three squads along with one or two senior cadets. This was the first opportunity for the freshman cadets to learn about squad leadership and how to make effective decisions and complete a mission safely and efficiently. After the course training was over, all orietation members enjoyed the afternoon at Mt. Olympus Waterpark and Amusement Park at Wisconsin Dells.