In the summer of 2025, I attended Cadet Summer Training (CST) Advanced Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky, a 35-day leadership evaluation designed to assess tactical competence, problem-solving ability, and readiness for commissioning as a U.S. Army Officer. I made the bold decision to attend the 1st Regiment.  This meant I was in the first group of cadets attending CST for the year. As you can imagine, this comes with pros and cons. These include terrain being overgrown from the previous year, staff adjusting plans as challenges arise, and basically being the trial run group for all theoretical plans. Nevertheless, I planned to go first so I could enjoy the rest of the summer before returning to college in the Fall. 

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CST is divided into phases that test and evaluate individual soldier tasks and platoon operations in the final phases, commonly referred to as Panther, Grizzly, and Wolverine. While the training incorporated platoon tactics, land navigation test, weapons employment, tactical combat casualty care, and decision-making under stress, the most defining development in my leadership occurred through the application of Troop Leading Procedures (TLPs) during the Animal Phases in an Ambush Operation. 

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Before CST, TLPs existed for me primarily as doctrine. These were seen as eight steps to memorize in ARMY 301 and 302 courses, but at Advanced Camp, theory became reality. According to the United States Army Ranger handbook, Troop Leading Procedures is the process a leader goes through to prepare his unit to accomplish a tactical mission. TLPs comprise 8 steps: 1. Receive the mission, 2. Issue a warning order, 3. Make a tentative plan, 4. Initiate Movement 5. Reconnoiter. 6. Complete the plan. 7. Issue the complete order. 8. Supervise.  Instead of analyzing case studies in a classroom, I was responsible for receiving a mission, issuing a warning order, developing and refining a tentative plan, conducting reconnaissance, briefing the OPORD, and supervising execution in real time. See Artifact 1, a case study I evaluated for ARMY 302 before camp. The artifact denotes some ethical issues in combat and the importance of sound leadership. The combat leadership component is one that I was able to practice at CST in a combat-simulated environment.  The success of the ambush relied on clarity, timing, terrain analysis, proper security, and continual adjustments. For the first time, outside of a USC training environment, TLPs were not hypothetical; they were a framework that would make or break an almost real-life mission. 

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Applying TLPs in the field taught me that planning is continuous, not linear, and that friction is inevitable. During our ambush lane, I experienced the pressure of limited time, shifting terrain advantages, environmental changes, and the challenge of collaborating movement among 30-plus cadets from other universities around the country with different strengths, weaknesses, and stress responses. Through TLP’s the core concepts of the mission were understood by everyone, and my job became one of managing roles and properly communicating my plan for every key player in the ambush. 

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I learned that a leader must communicate clearly, revisit assumptions, adapt, make observations, and always maintain mission focus.  This training forced me to think critically, make decisions without perfect information, and trust my peers to execute to standard. It also revealed the importance of composure, not perfection, in combat-simulated environments. I left CST with a deeper, internalized understanding of how TLPs function not just as a process, but as a cognitive tool for leaders making time-sensitive, high-stakes decisions.

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This experience has shaped the way I view leadership moving forward. Professionally, it prepares me to step into the Basic Officer Leader Course with confidence built from performance rather than theory. Academically, the repetition of planning, briefing, and executing improved my analytical reasoning and strengthened my ability to evaluate complex problems quickly. Personally, CST showed me that I developed the skillset necessary to lead under pressure. I was able to adapt quickly and stay calm when others looked to me for direction. See Artifact 2, which captures my leadership philosophy. The paper discusses my style of Army leadership, which was vital to my success and learning at CST.

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Troop Leading Procedures became more than a doctrine; they became the formula for success. CST transformed me into a leader who understands how to assess, decide, and act when uncertainty is high, and those lessons will guide me throughout my college career, military service, and future career as an Army Officer. 

Artifact 1. Leadership Paper for ARMY 302 Case Study Paper

Artifact 2: Memorandum of Leadership Philosophy