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Thread: My first FTX is coming up

  1. #1
    Council Member Kevin23's Avatar
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    Default My first FTX is coming up

    My first training exercise is coming up on Friday for AROTC, in which I will be travailing to Quantico with my school's battalion to participate in a variety of events many of which relate to what I've learned or done so far in AROTC. However, I've never been on a ROTC FTX before, so if anyone else has done one before what should I expect in terms of the courses, challenges etc?

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    I think you should just go, and find out.

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    I don't know about ROTC FTXs, but our Basic FTX was basically a DIGX. We marched out, set up a perimeter, dug foxholes and assigned guard shifts. Then we ran around doing stuff like reacting to gas attacks, more marching, etcetera.

    My advice: bring long underwear. Apparently, there's this new thing where it gets cold at night in the winter, not sure who thought that one up.

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    Council Member Van's Avatar
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    As far as gear goes, I'll tell you what I told my cadets (MS I class, University of Hawai'i).

    -Don't bring a Rambo knife. You going to use a knife to open MREs. A modest size Swiss Army Knife (not the ten bajillion blade model) or a multi-tool (like a Leatherman or Gerber) works fine. If you go this route, get something with scissors; trying to trim moleskine with a knife doesn't work.

    -Don't bring a $120 flashlight so bright it causes retina damage at 15m. You're going to use it to find your sleeping bag or check a map on night land nav. If you just CANNOT live with the Army issue flashlight, get a small (AA or AAA battery) LED type light with a red or blue LED.

    -Wear a watch. Assume you'll lose or break your cellphone doing landnav and tactics. You'll still be expected to be on time, and an alarm is useful (but silence it during tactics). A G-Shock is an excellent choice.

    -If you're not issued a poncho liner, you might consider making this investment in your career. Your wubbie is your friend.

    Concur with the long underwear; a good set of polypro can save your life. Or at least prevent cold weather injury (not a problem for my younglings though).

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Van View Post
    As far as gear goes, I'll tell you what I told my cadets (MS I class, University of Hawai'i).

    -Don't bring a Rambo knife. You going to use a knife to open MREs. A modest size Swiss Army Knife (not the ten bajillion blade model) or a multi-tool (like a Leatherman or Gerber) works fine. If you go this route, get something with scissors; trying to trim moleskine with a knife doesn't work.

    -Don't bring a $120 flashlight so bright it causes retina damage at 15m. You're going to use it to find your sleeping bag or check a map on night land nav. If you just CANNOT live with the Army issue flashlight, get a small (AA or AAA battery) LED type light with a red or blue LED.

    -Wear a watch. Assume you'll lose or break your cellphone doing landnav and tactics. You'll still be expected to be on time, and an alarm is useful (but silence it during tactics). A G-Shock is an excellent choice.

    -If you're not issued a poncho liner, you might consider making this investment in your career. Your wubbie is your friend.

    Concur with the long underwear; a good set of polypro can save your life. Or at least prevent cold weather injury (not a problem for my younglings though).
    Concur with all of the above. Shell out the sixty or seventy bucks for a solid multitool, it'll come in handy all the time.

    I finally got out of Quantico two months ago, expect the weather to be miserable in one way or another.

  6. #6
    Council Member Polarbear1605's Avatar
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    Default Granite State and Van got it right

    I understand it is standard issue now...but bring your Gortex...Quantico Falls can get wet and miserable.

  7. #7
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    So did this kid survive, or did the Jabberwocky eat him?
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

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    Council Member Kevin23's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AdamG View Post
    So did this kid survive, or did the Jabberwocky eat him?
    To answer your question, I actually overslept and missed the bus.

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