Preparing for Air Assault

There are few things more exciting for a cadet than finding out about the possibility of attending on the the Army's many follow-on schools. Saturday was no different for me. I found out that there was a chance that I would be able to go to Air Assault school. For those who don't know much about it, Air Assault teaches soldiers skills that would allow them to conduct operations involving helicopters. This includes rigging equipment for lifting with helicopters, dismounting helicopters by rappelling, and bringing in helicopters in lifting operations. Air Assault is a very physically and mentally demanding school, and many do not succeed. The physical challenges involve completing an obstacle course and a twelve mile ruck march. There is also runs sprinkled in throughout the other days. The challenging part about preparing for a physically demanding school is becoming physically ready to go. A twelve mile road march completed in three hours is very difficult. Unfortunately, there is only one way to prepare yourself for it, road marching. This is especially difficult during the winter months. There are a few options, but only one logical choice. When traveling twelve miles, walking around a track is just not a realistic option and three hours on a treadmill could be mind numbing. I will let you know how the process goes and will be posting about recommendations about workouts in preparation for AAS.