National Guard Weekends as a Cadet

Drill weekends in the National Guard can range from challenging and exciting to downright mind numbing. Cadets have a different experience depending upon their unit. In my experiences, Cadets are often underused. As a cadet I have served in a number of different roles. I began as a private, without all of the cleaning. This time gave me the experience of being the member of a squad. We were in a recon troop, so there was a great deal of time spent together in the woods. From this point forward, I began to assume a greater number of responsibilities until becoming company XO. I remained the executive officer despite the unit having plenty of lieutenants. I was always treated with respect and given the opportunity to act as an XO would. After transferring units, my role quickly shrunk back to where it had begun. After being at the unit for a few months, I began seeking more responsibilities, and slowly they came. These came in the form of risk assessments and operations orders evolved into running training missions. The main thing that I have learned is that, as a cadet, you will have as much responsibilities as you want. No one will be pushing for you to do anything. Many soldiers doubt the usefulness of cadets. You will have to seek out tasks and prove that you are capable. This must be done in order to develop as a leader. Step forward and volunteer your services; it will help you in your quest to become the best officer you can.