Training Program

Physical Training

Cadets and Army Officers maintain physical fitness standards. Cadre and Advanced Course Cadets help new Cadets reach and exceed these requirements. In ROTC, physical training (PT) usually takes place three days a week, in the mornings. PT typically consists of running, strength training, and stretching, but it can also include anything from paintballing to swimming to football. For those hoping to take their physical fitness to the next level, the Ranger Challenge Team and the Bataan Memorial Death March Team present additional opportunities. 

Combat Water Survival Training

The CWST is a confidence- and strength-building exercise consisting of three different tasks: swimming across the pool with an M16, walking off the diving board blindfolded, and jumping into the pool with an LBV (load bearing vest) and dropping one's equipment before resurfacing.

Land Navigation

Practice makes perfect when it comes to Land Navigation. Cadet Campbell works to plot all his points before he begins his course, because with only a map, compass, and protractor the smallest mistake means the difference between becoming lost or finishing the course.

Field Training Exercises (FTX)

During field training exercises (FTX), in three days Cadets will participate in multiple events ranging from FLRC, Rappelling, Land Navigation, and Squad Lanes. Each event will test a Cadet’s confidence, team building ability, and Leadership in different environments.

Community Service

Throughout the year, UH Cadets can be found volunteering at the Houston Rodeo, working at Homes for Troops (an organizations that builds homes for Wounded Warriors), and presenting the Colors at various community events, among many other activities

Leadership Development Program

As Cadets progress through ROTC, they take on various Cadet leadership positions, such as Squad Leader, Color Guard Commander, Ranger Challenge Team Captain, or Executive Officer, to name just a few. These positions prepare you for a variety of future careers, both in the Army and in the private sector.

Mentorship

A hallmark of the UH Army ROTC program is its mentorship program. New Cadets receive mentors, often in their field of study, who guide them through the challenges of being a Cadet. Frequent mentorship ensures that Cadets are given every opportunity to succeed in the program and take advantage of all that ROTC has to offer.

Military Science Courses

Army ROTC's four-year program teaches students to be leaders, through classroom, tactical, and adventure training. Outside of ROTC, you will maintain a normal academic schedule like all college students. Depending on when you enroll in Army ROTC, you will undergo most or all of the following courses. And the best part about this leadership development? You will use and benefit from it for years to come.

School Year Opportunities

Ranger Challenge

This grueling three-day competition tests a Cadet’s physical and mental strength, with tasks that range from timed Land Navigation to a 10k road march. In 2010, the UH Female Ranger Challenge Team took first place in the Brigade.

Color Guard

The UH Color Guard Team is a highly disciplined group of Cadets that serves as the face of the US Army to the local community. It trains throughout the year and presents the flag at football games, the Houston Rodeo, and formal events, often in front of thousands of spectators.

German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge

To earn this award from the German Army, a Cadet must complete a three-day event that includes track and field, swimming, shooting, and a 30k road march.

Bataan Memorial Death March

This competition consists of a challenging march through the high desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II. Cadets can compete in teams of five or as individuals, in either the "Light" or "Heavy" (carrying a 35-lb. rucksack) category.

Summer Training Opportunities

Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC)

LDAC is a month-long course at Fort Lewis, Washington that is required for all Cadets upon completion of their MSIII (Junior) year. It assesses Cadets’ leadership abilities through a variety of tactical scenarios and team challenges. The course also introduces them to new skills and prepares them to impart knowledge to younger Cadets in their final year of ROTC.

Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT)

The Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT) provides Cadets the opportunity to experience leadership in Army Table of Organization and equipment (TO&E) units over a three to four week period. Cadets serve in lieutenant-level leadership positions in active-duty units. Platoon Leader positions have a 3-4 week duration depending on the hosting unit and location. Assignments include units that are located CONUS and OCONUS. Cadets are assigned a unit mentor, and are provided on-post lodging and meals via a Dining Facility. This program is exclusively designed for MS III Cadets before and after completion of the Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC).

Cultural Understanding and Language Program (CULP)

CULP "deployments," or cultural immersion trips, are a tremendous opportunity for Cadets to broaden their experiences as individuals and bring back to the Army a wealth of knowledge and understanding of critical cultural arenas, thereby enhancing the organization as a whole. Every year, Cadets apply for any one of a number of CULP trips to countries around the world, including Slovakia, Panama, Portugal, the Philippines, or Ghana, to name a few. Depending on the type of trip, a group of roughly 20 Cadets will train with a foreign military, tour the country, participate in volunteer service, and/or intensively study a language. Trips are fully funded by Cadet Command and last for several weeks. CULP participants make lifelong friends and memories, while gaining unparalleled cultural experience that will inform their careers.

Airborne School

Becoming a paratrooper at Airborne School is a unique experience requiring special dedication and a desire to be challenged mentally and physically. This three-week course, also known as Basic Airborne Course, teaches Cadets and Soldiers the techniques involved in parachuting from airplanes and landing safely. The final test includes five non-assisted jumps. The purpose of the BAC is to qualify the Cadet in the use of the parachute as a means of combat deployment and to develop leadership, self-confidence, and an aggressive spirit through mental and physical conditioning. Airborne Soldiers have a long and distinguished tradition of being an elite body of fighting men and women– people who have always set the example for determination and courage. When you volunteer for this training, you accept the challenge of continuing this tradition. The Airborne Soldiers of the past set high standards– it is now up to you to maintain them!

Air Assault School

Cadets also have the opportunity to attend Air Assault School (AAS). This school is a ten-day course of instruction that teaches Air Assault techniques. It's also one of the most physically challenging ten days in the Army. Prior to AAS, you must pass Army Physical Fitness Test, perform a 12-mile unit march under three hours, and navigate the AAS obstacle course successfully to qualify for Air Assault Training. Pack this into a ten-day school where you learn how to prepare helicopters for carrying Army equipment and personnel, and you have one challenging course of instruction.

Leaders' Training Course

LTC is four weeks of intense classroom and field training held in the summer at Fort Knox, Kentucky. This course is an accelerated version of the two years of leadership development training Cadets receive in the Basic Course. By transforming yourself through this rigorous training, you will qualify for enrollment in the Army ROTC Advanced Course on campus-provided you have two years of college remaining (undergraduate or graduate). Once you successfully complete LTC and agree to contract and enter the Advanced Course, you may also qualify to receive a $5,000 bonus. At LTC you experience the Army firsthand. You will receive the kind of leadership development training that is unmatched by any other program. How? By developing your potential in the most important of ways-mentally, physically, and emotionally. You will be grouped into squads where you will gain experience in all leadership roles-culminating in verbal and written feedback on your improvement.

Combat Diver Qualification Course

The Houston Battalion sends one or two Cadets to the Army Combat Diver School almost every year. The grueling seven-week school, at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Florida, is neither for the weak of heart nor the idle of mind. It is as intense mentally as it is physically, with an attrition rate that truly begins before each class cycle does. In order to be accepted to the course, candidates are required to pass as intense physical fitness and swim test at their home units, which must be documented by their command. So, getting there is only half the battle. For those who do make it into the course, one out of every three will never finish. Regarded by many Soldiers as the toughest military school to endure, CDQC is open to Special Forces and Ranger noncommissioned officers… and a select few Cadets. Students learn surface and sub-surface waterborne infiltration methods.