PO3 Omaries Henry and CPO Bhaswi Singh
What is a BLT (Basic Leadership Training)?
The Basic Leadership Training held at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School was available to all returning and incoming cadets to the NJROTC unit. The cadets who participated learned leadership and cadet etiquette. A basic leadership training, or cadet staff development, was led by our units NSI Chief Chen and cadets that attended Leadership Academy in New Port Rhode Island. These were Cadets/LTJG Joseph Kairo and /LT Oliver Cordero.
A Breakdown of Cardozo’s BLT
Day One
On the first day I was going into leadership training blind, as I did not know what activities myself and other cadets would do. Once I came to the class, I’m glad to say that everything was explained well and deeply, seething clear deadlines and dates and times as to what would take place over the next few days. Cadets Joseph Kairo, and Oliver Cordero were class leaders and made sure all the cadets were comfortable and paying attention. They explained their experience at the summer leadership program. To ensure this program was helping our school’s cadets get to know each other, each cadet had a “swim buddy” that they had to stick to and get to know over the course of the training. As this was the case the class leaders introduced each other which I think helped all cadets feel at ease. Cadets with their “swim buddy” introduced each other in front of the class. This helped give us courage to speak up and help us know our training buddies better.
The slides created by the class leaders were comprehensive and informative. They reviewed topics such as setting goals using the “S.M.A.R.T” technique, which I found very helpful in understanding my own goals and the best ways to achieve them. They went on to explain topics like the detention of integrity, time management, and more. The lesson that they gave helped all the cadets, as it gave us motivation to strive for more. Instructors Major Moore and Chief Chen introduced each other. This was a great learning experience in the Navy and Marine Corps, but also helped us understand our instructors more.
After this, the instructors and class leaders went through the schedule of the rest of the program and also for the next school year. As the current operations Officer for the program, I found a preview for next year’s events to be very helpful. It helps put my mind at ease to have a head start on what the operations department should prepare for so that our program can run smoothly.
Overall, I believe the first day of this program was a great bonding experience for cadets and instructors alike, and I believe it helped strengthen our community and bring us closer to our personal goals.
Day Two
Day two was by far one of the most enjoyable and memorable bonding experiences I’ve had. On day two of the program we both learned necessary skills and learned to complete them by ourselves while bonding with cadets that many of us hadn’t met before. Instructor Chief Chen went through the basics of ironing both male and female uniforms, and the process of shining NJROTC shoes. This lesson was much needed and will be very helpful to new cadets and old cadets that never had the chance to learn proper technique in the first place. Once we were given the clear and concise instructions, we were to go with our partners and iron both a male and female uniform with shined shoes in twenty minutes. This exercise was a great way to bond with one’s partner, but also those around you who were facing the same challenges you were.
We were working together with the same goal in mind: working as a unit. A challenge proposed by Naval Science Instructor Chief Chen was a great way to keep the cadets motivated and determined. The challenge proposed was to have shiner shoes that Chief Chen had shinned. This challenge had the cadets joking and laughing around, lightening the mood, whilst having a productive lesson that will be great help for the future. Although this day had been cut short due to the lack of time, I also believe it was the most delightful in breaking social walls that cadets may have been facing with others in the classroom, other cadets, or between instructors and cadets.
Day Three
Day three was the day for the physical fitness challenges. Cadets were to complete the PRTs, or physical readiness trainings. Cadets worked with their partners to ensure that they worked together to get the best possible results they could. This day helped cadets come closer together in striving for their best push up, sit up score, and best mile run time. Cadets were encouraged to help each other out, especially if one cadet completed challenges before the other.
Naval Science Instructors Major Moore and Chief Chen, as well as class leaders Joseph Kairo and Oliver Cordero, made sure to motivate and care for all the cadets completing the challenges. They were there to motivate us to do our best, whilst making sure we were safe and not facing any medical problems. After cadets had completed the physical fitness challenge, the unit moved inside to proceed on with the program.
Once inside, we learned and practiced an important chant to the U.S. Navy, Anchors Aweigh. In this time, cadets worked with their partners learning the chant. Toward the end of class time, as a unit we sang the chant while marching. In this time we all got to see our efforts pay off, and recognize the amount of effort we have put into not only physical fitness, but also, the other challenges that we worked on together to overcome.
Day Four
Day four was the last day of the Basic Leadership Training and we finished the week with uniform inspection. The uniform inspection was held so it could test the skills we learned throughout the week. After the uniform inspection, cadets then learned how to fly drones and were allowed to spend the last few hours getting to know each other.