Lane three on rappel!
Narrator: This is one of the most intense exercises
at West Point's basic training.
New cadets must rappel down a 25-foot cliff face.
Narrator: Then a 75-foot wall.
Narrator: The United States Military Academy
in West Point, New York,
is the No. 1 military academy in the US,
where 120,000 of the nation's top students
and soldiers apply each year.
Only 10% get in,
and new cadet Jabril Williams is one of them.
I'm excited. I'm going to attack it with
as much enthusiasm and intensity as I can.
Narrator: But before the start of school,
Williams and his fellow cadets
must complete the six-week basic training program,
the beginning of the 47-month journey
that creates the next generation of leaders for the US Army.
Cadet basic training, or CBT,
begins immediately after R-day.
R-day, or reception day,
is the day when students first report to West Point
and get assigned to the company they'll train in.
Cadet cadre: Attention!
Narrator: The class is divided into nine companies,
each competing to earn the most points
and be awarded the title of best company
at the end of basic training.
Congratulations, new cadet,
you are now a part of Alpha Company,
the best company in cadet basic training regiment.
Narrator: During CBT,
upperclassmen serve as the leaders, or cadre.
The most important thing we do at West Point
is teach leadership, followership,
and instill the warrior ethos.
'Cause when they graduate here,
they're going to go lead America's sons and daughters.
Narrator: After R-day,
cadets begin their training by learning the basics
to gain the confidence they need
before moving on to more advanced skills.
The first thing they do is they go and they learn
how to qualify on a M4 carbine.
So they go out and do marksmanship training.
Patrick McManamon: Every soldier in basic training
is qualified on a rifle. Most of them have never
picked up a weapon in their life.
McManamon: So, there's 40 rounds.
There's different targets set at different distances
out in each lane on the range,
and they'll pop up in different combinations.
So, they shoot from five different positions,
and we do a lot of practice leading up to it,
but this is when they all put it together
and put it to the test.
Narrator: To become qualified in basic rifle marksmanship,
cadets must score a minimum of 23
out of 40 possible points.
Each dummy contains a sensor that, when hit,
sends a signal up to the control tower,
adding a point to the cadet's score.
Instructor: Lane? Cadet: 11.
Instructor: 31.
McManamon: So if they don't pass,
they're going to stay until they do.
So every company before us
has had everybody qual that is able to qual
before they leave for the day.
Tricia Chen: I actually went on lane one,
which isn't a great range
'cause a couple of the targets are actually
sitting in the shadows,
but I still managed to qualify with a 27,
28 my highest.
Instructor: Cease fire, cease fire.
[air horn blares]
Narrator: Today, cadets are taking
their land-navigation test.
This is a lot. But that's OK.
Narrator: They have three hours
to find a minimum of three out of five hidden points.
John Jackson: We are given a map with different points.
You will find what's called an attack point.
Attack points are a point on the map that you know,
hey, I am here.
From there, you'll take out your compass.
And you'll shoot a azimuth.
And from 180 degrees, I know my point is 180 meters.
So I'll walk out 180 meters and then, boom, find my point.
Narrator: Each cadet receives unique coordinates
and sets out to complete the test alone.
Narrator: Each attack point
is represented by an orange flag.
When cadets find it, they must mark their scorecard
using the attached hole puncher.
If cadets are unable to find enough points
in the allotted time, they fail the test
and must return later to attempt the course again.
Narrator: In addition to winning points for their company,
ambitious new cadets aim to beat records set
by past West Point students.
After only an hour and 31 minutes,
a cadet has returned with all five points found correctly.
Narrator: Only nine minutes away
from breaking the school record --
a big win for the ongoing best-company competition.
Having spent a couple weeks learning basic military skills,
new cadets are now ready to learn advanced skills
that will test their confidence.
I am an American soldier.
I am a warrior [coughing]
and a member of a team.
Narrator: Around the halfway mark of CBT,
new cadets get to experience the gas chamber,
also known as the "House of Tears."
Ashton Dull: Right now, we are at the House of Tears.
Everyone here is nervous, whether they admit it or not,
to go in that gas chamber.
And I think that part of this whole experience
throughout these six weeks is overcoming your fears
and your anxiety for things that are dangerous.
Narrator: The House of Tears is designed
to instill confidence in the new cadets,
but also to teach them how to properly wear MOPP gear.
Dull: So, you don it. You put the mask
over the back of your head.
You breathe the bad air out. You suck good air in.
It suctions to your face.
Narrator: With masks secure,
the first platoon enters the chamber.
Instructor: Go, go, go! Go!
Instructor: Get in there, let's go!
Dull: When they open the door, we file in,
about 20 of us at a time. You stand along the walls.
A little bit of an intense environment,
a little bit sketchy and scary.
You do some jumping jacks.
You check the mask,
like, you lift the mask up for about 10 seconds,
and then you put it back down and seal it.
Instructor: Breathe out.
Dull: And then after that, of course, you take it off
and do the Soldier's Creed.
The Soldier's Creed.
I am an American soldier.
I'm a warrior and a member of a team.
It's spicy. You feel the spice on your skin.
You feel it on your hands, your neck, your face.
You get about three or four words in,
and you just start choking and coughing.
Narrator: The CS gas used during training
is composed of tiny particles that float through the air
and land on human skin, irritating areas of moisture,
more specifically mucus membranes in the eyes,
nose, mouth, and lungs.
[cadets cough]
[crowd cheers]
Dull: After a few seconds, it kind of goes away
and it becomes a lot better
and you kind of can laugh about it.
Chen: This week, we've been working on
individual movement techniques
as well as medical lanes.
Narrator: During the medical-lane training event,
cadets ruck through a forest
and are then ambushed by enemy forces
played by noncommissioned officers.
[missile whistles]
Chen: Get on line! Get on line!
One squad will be performing security
on the frontal side,
and the Bravo team squad will be rendering aid.
And half of them will be pulling rear securities.
My role was a team leader in Alpha team.
I'm the first person who is reacting to the contact.
Left side down!
Narrator: Shortly after the squad is ambushed,
a casualty has been announced that requires medical aid.
Narrator: While cadets applied the tourniquet
to the dummy casualty, one cadet was hit by enemy fire.
[missile whistles] [missile explodes]
Cadet: It's OK! It's OK!
Cadet: Is there any blood squirting from the injury?
Narrator: Once casualties are relocated to a safe location,
cadets radio in for helicopter rescue.
Dustoff, this is Pitbull.
I have a medivac request, over.
Line one, whiskey lima 8 5 7 9 8 6 2 4.
Narrator: Instructors simulate helicopter sounds
and play the role of a medivac crew.
Definitely nerve-wracking.
It's pretty exciting, honestly,
but I was just like, oh, shoot.
Like, yeah, we're about to begin.
It was pretty fun, sir.
Narrator: As cadets continue to gain confidence
in their skills, they're brought
to the mountaineering and rappelling course ...
Lane three on rappel!
Narrator: Where they learn to safely make their way down
natural cliff faces in the New York mountains.
Today we learned how to set up our belts,
how to cinch them,
how to use our break hand and get our feet set.
Overcome some fear.
Williams: The exercise is the rappel,
but the challenge is getting over your fear
and inching down the cliff one inch at a time.
Lane one on rappel! Lane one on rappel!
Narrator: New cadet Williams started
on the 25-foot wall ...
Instructor: Lean back.
Narrator: And quickly lost his footing.
I definitely had some fear after that slip,
but I gained my ground.
Narrator: After conquering the 25-foot wall,
Williams was ready for the 75-foot wall.
If I mess up like the first time,
this drop is a little bit deeper.
Lane three on rappel!
This time I had a wider base.
I noticed that was what kind of messed me up
on the 25-foot one.
Narrator: Once cadets make it down the 75-foot wall,
they move to the mountaineering course
and use their hands and feet to climb up the cliff face.
Williams: That's the thing, I didn't look down.
I didn't look down until I was halfway through.
The only thing that was going through my head really was,
man, all these people are watching,
it'd be a shame if I fell. So.
Narrator: Once cadets reach the top
of the mountaineering lane,
they're instructed to let go
and walk backwards down the cliff ...
Narrator: Trusting that their battle buddy
and their equipment will keep them safe.
This gives us knowledge on being a well-rounded soldier.
You're not always going to have to
go to a mission or have a mission
where you're going to need to rappel,
but it's just good background knowledge to have.
Narrator: As the end of summer nears,
new cadets are ready to put their skills to the test
in an event called The Crucible.
So, The Crucible here is
the penultimate team-building event.
Narrator: This is the last chance
for each company to earn points
and come out on top as the best company.
[air horn blares]
Jackson: All of your warrior skills, your individual tasks,
they're all kind of put to the test.
Narrator: Platoons have two hours
to map out eight different stations
given as coordinates, correctly locate them,
and then complete the tasks
to get as many points as possible.
Jackson: When you get to the point,
you have to execute some type of physical movement.
Cadet: Help! Help!
Narrator: The first event is a race
where cadets must securely strap a cadre to a skid
and race around a set of cones.
Following the skid race,
one volunteer has to correctly put on
an entire set of MOPP gear.
Ready, set.
Cadet: Come one, come on, come on.
[cadets cheer]
Cadet: You got it, Ainsworth.
Do your wrists.
A minute left.
Keep your head up. Keep your head up. Keep your head up.
[cadets applaud]
Narrator: Next, the platoons must find a new location,
where they must move a partner on their back 50 yards
using either a fireman's carry or a piggyback.
We also practice the employment of hand grenades.
Obviously not actual hand grenades,
but with the hollow shells,
and making sure we can employ those properly,
which for us is landing within 5 meters
of targets at 30 meters' distance,
which is the proper range for the employment
of a hand grenade.
I think we did really good overall.
We came in at the very last minute,
which means we were pushing all the way to the very end.
Narrator: Six weeks after arriving
at West Point as civilians,
1,194 new cadets were able to ring the bell,
a West Point tradition
that signifies that cadet basic training is over.
On the last day of CBT,
cadets complete a 12-mile ruck back to West Point's campus
in an event known as March Back.
Alpha company won the best-company competition
and led the class back to campus.
New cadets are welcomed by the community
and parents to celebrate this milestone.
Jackson: I'm proud of myself.
We were continually given challenges,
and we overcame them.
Chen: I feel relieved
and also empowered to move on to the academic year.
I've learned a lot here.
Narrator: With cadet basic training completed,
these incoming freshmen,
or plebes, as they're now called,
are ready for the next big challenge,
the academic year.
You persevere and get that resilience,
'cause it's not about how hard you could throw a punch
or how hard you could take one,
it's about how often you get back up.