Cadet Drue and her fellow FTP peers sit at attention, while their Field Training Preparation trainer addresses them. The sophomore year of AFROTC emphasis peer leadership, attention to detail, and self discipline.
Now that I am FTP I find myself given more responsibility and leadership roles. At the beginning of my sophomore year I was nervous for the obstacles I knew were to come. Marching, memorizing, and being a peer leader were all things that I was once uncomfortable with. Although these aspects of being FTP are challenging in their own rights the biggest challenge of FTP year lay in the fact that I had to find the courage to rely on and to become a team with my fellow FTP cadets. That, above all else, is the greatest obstacle of any individual throughout their FTP year.
In regards to my own accomplishments I can proudly say with every quote I have been given, every time I get the chance to stand in front of my flight and direct them as need be, and when I am given roles of being a true leader, I gradually get more and more confident in myself. In pertaining to being an FTP cadet of a group, the transition was not so smooth. In the beginning working together seemed an impossible goal. So many frustrations and problems arose until I found myself and others attempting to see through our own ideas and plans to accomplish objectives. Needless to say we never got anywhere. Then, somewhere along the way a point came when differences stopped and cohesiveness emerged. It was not until we became a single unit, one entity, that we started improving and conquering our goals.
Working together is the most important part of FTP year and for me it is one of the most rewarding. It is gratifying to walk away from a hard day of events in ROTC knowing that my fellow cadets improved and that I improved. Granted I still do make mistakes, tons of mistakes, but every mistake and chance to lead gets me closer and closer to my goal. The goal of becoming an officer in the United States Air Force.
Cadet Third Class Rachel Drue
