Jacks Valley Information - July 12
Your Basics are heading out to Jacks next week! Here is more information about what to expect!
First some general admin notes.
1. All pictures from Jacks Valley will now appear either in just the BCT 2 gallery or the individual squadron gallery under BCT 2.
2. We will cover each squadron at each course unless there are weather safety issues. There are 3 courses, Obstacle course, Confidence Course and Assault Course
3. There will be a day or two where you may not see your basic's squadron.
4. There are many events that take place in Jacks Valley that we are not allowed to cover, but there is a lot of action that happens on the courses!
History of Jacks Valley
The Air Force Academy occupies 18,500 acres. For perspective, it is roughly the size and shape of Manhattan (the island in New York, not the city in Kansas). The Academy site consists of five main valleys that run west-to-east, from the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains to the plains below. The northernmost of the valleys is Jacks Valley. The area is named after Cleo and Zelda Jack, who had owned a 480-acre ranch in the valley beginning in 1942.
Every summer, Jacks plays host to a key part of Basic Cadet Training, the field encampment portion that takes place during the second half of BCT, typically in late July. The use of Jacks Valley for BCT began on 25 July 1966, when members of the Class of ’70 marched to the training site. Since that day, every USAFA class has ventured into the valley to sleep in tents and experience a wide range of activities, to include land navigation, weapons training, and a variety of courses (obstacle, assault, confidence, and leadership reaction).
Check out a few videos below to give you an idea of what your basic will go through at Jacks!
CLICK HERE for a video from one of the first BCT 2 in Jacks.
As you can see, Jacks Valley is the encampment portion of BCT. Gone are the tents, however, much still stays the same. Throughout the days of July 15 to July 26 the WebTeam will be out capturing the basics primarily at Assault Course, the Confidence Course, the Obstacle Course, CBRNE, and CATM. We'll go into more detail once we start covering. Until then, here's a few throwback videos made by USAFA to give you an idea of what's to come!
ASSAULT COURSE video
OBSTACLE COURSE video
CONFIDENCE COURSE video
And for a little fun, here's a VIDEO how they'll be dining out there!
March Out photos come Monday and while we'll capture March Out we won't be able to necessarily sort by squadrons.
Thank you to whoever sent the box of goodies to WebGuy for the team, there was no note but it was greatly apprecitated, the team loves snacks! Especially snacks local to you!