Young Cadets Take on Shelter Building

Each week our cadet platoons rotate activities to learn new skills, strengthen leadership, and learn how to instruct. On Wednesday, overseen by Platoon Sergeant Jacob Edgecombe '27 and Warrant Officer (WO) Rowan Lloyd '26, Platoon 12, with our youngest participants, had the opportunity to learn to construct a shelter in the woods. It wasn’t difficult to jump to the task!

Normally, with a bucket of ropes, the cadets decide on the best design and location for construction. However, on this day, there were no ropes – only the materials they could find. We had discussed the reasons for building a shelter: being lost, bad weather, injury, nighttime, and choosing the best location – whether on an open hill, at the bottom of a valley, or in the woods. For some, it's not entirely intuitive, much like learning to build a fire, where sticks that are too large are often used too early. It’s also possible that structures or supports already exist in the environment, and with some ingenuity and determination, Platoon 12 built three solid shelters. Well done!