Commandant's Training Day
Commandant Training Day intent is to assess the Air Force Cadet Wing in leadership, followership, discipline, knowledge, determination, positive attitude, and grit in the face of adversity and continuous change. The events were conducted safely and professionally. The events also physically and mentally challenged every cadet in an immersive warrior-minded enviroment.
The training embodied:
1. The warfighter mentality
2. Competitive, winning spirit
3. Strong warrior ethos
4. Critical thinking and calculated risk taking.
The training started Tuesday evening with challenges such as push-ups, tug-of-war, and mannequin carry.
Wednesday morning was the start of the full day of the Commandant's Training Day. Brig. General Moga, Commandant of Cadets, started the training with a speech and challenge for the cadets to complete the challenges ahead with integrity, resilience and a warrior spirit. The first challenge was to do a push up every time they heard the word 'Down' during the playing of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm Goin'Down" song. For reference, during the chorus, the word 'DOWN' is sung 16 times! It was a great way to get the cadets motivated for the upcoming challenges! There was an F-35 2-ship Fly over to further motivate the cadets!
In the morning there were various event challenges taking place at different locations on the Academy. At the Center for Character and Leadership Development there were discussions on understanding the evolving Profession of Arms and the changing demands of military leadership and character development. In Fairchild Hall there was a Russian Federation Threat Brief,a brief on China and what keeps Xi Jinping up at night, as well as a brief on Airmanship given by Airman of the Year-SMgst Ricks. These briefings were not photographed by WebGuy.
One of the first events that WebGuy captured just a part of was the Drone Evasion Challenge. Cadets were sent out into groups of 16 up into the hills and they had to navigate their way to a designated point while evading capture by the 'enemy'. Drones (Unmanned Aircraft System) were used to help assist in finding the various groups and helping with their capture.
The Athletic fields were active with squadrons participating in the Hero Workout of the Day, which consisted of lunges, low crawls, push-ups, pull-ups, and other various physical activities.
On the Terrazo they had challenges such as: pass a bucket of balls using only your feet without spilling the balls. There was also a jump rope challenge where they had to get a certain number of people under the rope during each rotation and in a given amount of time. Another challenge was to construct a cube using PVC pipe that were in varying lengthes. The final challenge had something to with numbers being called out and a rubber chicken being tossed. WebGuy was unable to get the full story on that activity. Sorry!
In the afternoon they had a water ballon launching contest. Squadrons were on opposing sides of the field and they had to try and get as many of the balloons into the circle as possible. Each team had 5 balloons to launch.
The Athletic Fields were active again in the afternoon with squadrons competiting against one another in various sports such as Dodge Ball, Disc Golf, and Frisbee Football.
To view photos, go to GALLERIES > Military Training > Commandant Challenge. Set photo order OLDEST to NEWEST. Select your start page or click on the links below.
*Photo order must be set OLDEST to NEWEST for the links below to take you to the correct start pages.
** There were multiple squadrons at each location and they rotated to each location throughout the day. WebGuy could not seperate into squadrons. The best we could do was links to location in AM/PM. Note: Intercollegiate athletes did not participate in the afternoon event challenges.
Tuesday Evening Challenge Events pgs. 1-19 Tuesday Evening on TZO
Wednesday AM General Moga issuing challenge on Terrazo pgs. 19 (middle of page) -22 Gen. Moga issuing challenge
Wednesday AM Evade Drone Capture (only a small group photographed) pgs. 22-26 Drone evasion
Wednesday AM Athletic Fields Workout of the Day pgs. 26 (top of the page)-66 Athletic Fields
Wednesday AM Terrazo Challenges pgs. 66 (top of page-1st row)-87 TZO Challenges
Wednesday PM Stillman Field pgs. 87 (middle of page)- 100 Water Balloon Toss
Wednesday PM Athletic Fields pgs. 100 (bottom of page)- 131 Sports Competitions