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Independence, MO —
Recently 28 student-cadets from the Van Horn High School Army JROTC program spent the day on a field trip visit to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. For most of the cadets, the trip was their first opportunity to spend time on an active duty US Army garrison. The visit was a learning experience from start to finish.
The bus ride to Leavenworth began with the cadets participating in a “Jeopardy” style game focused on the history of Fort Leavenworth:
- What is the oldest active US Army garrison west of the Mississippi River? Fort Leavenworth.
- In 1866, the US Congress authorized the formation of several regiments of black soldiers to serve in what was then the western frontier, what name did the native American peoples call these units? Buffalo Soldiers.
While at Fort Leavenworth, the Van Horn cadets visited the Frontier Army Museum. The museum tells the story of the frontier Army, early Leavenworth and the trails leading west that were key to the westward expansion of the nation. The Frontier Army museum contains an unique and extensive collection of uniforms, weapons, equipment and support items used by early settlers who were part of this westward migration.
Next stop on the visit was the Combined Arms Center-Leader Development and Education, home to the Command and General Staff College, the Army’s “masters level” war fighting and staff operations school.
Housed in the new Lewis and Clark Center, the state-of-the-art training facility includes 96 modern, high tech classrooms to support the approximately 1,000 students in residence at CGSC. As stated in visitor literature from Fort Leavenworth, “ … Ft Leavenworth has always stood guard over our nation’s frontiers ... today’s frontiers now include frontiers of the mind: challenges in doctrine development, collective training, and leader education.”
To the cadets from Van Horn, the visit to the Lewis and Clark Center served as a visible and reinforcing testament to the concept of “life long learning” as a necessary component to a successful future.
After lunch at the Frontier Center Club facility, cadets toured the Leavenworth National Military Cemetery and the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial. The Leavenworth Cemetery is listed on the national Register of Historic Places and is the final resting place of several persons of note from the frontier period as well as six Medal of Honor recipients. The Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Park commemorates the significant history and contributions of African-American Soldiers and units in the US Army. The monument was dedicated by General Colin L Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first African-American to serve in that capacity, on July 25 1992.
The consensus of the student-cadets was their time at Fort Leavenworth was well spent. Several commented on the historic irony of cadets from Independence, a frontier trails town, visiting Fort Leavenworth, another significant frontier trails town.
The field trip reinforced two of the tenants of Army JROTC: to understand the importance of graduation from high school and to develop an understanding of life long learning as an essential component to supporting a positive, self directed, and productive future as a fully engaged citizen. The day was a good one for education and learning.
Recently 28 student-cadets from the Van Horn High School Army JROTC program spent the day on a field trip visit to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. For most of the cadets, the trip was their first opportunity to spend time on an active duty US Army garrison. The visit was a learning experience from start to finish.
The bus ride to Leavenworth began with the cadets participating in a “Jeopardy” style game focused on the history of Fort Leavenworth:
- What is the oldest active US Army garrison west of the Mississippi River? Fort Leavenworth.
- In 1866, the US Congress authorized the formation of several regiments of black soldiers to serve in what was then the western frontier, what name did the native American peoples call these units? Buffalo Soldiers.
While at Fort Leavenworth, the Van Horn cadets visited the Frontier Army Museum. The museum tells the story of the frontier Army, early Leavenworth and the trails leading west that were key to the westward expansion of the nation. The Frontier Army museum contains an unique and extensive collection of uniforms, weapons, equipment and support items used by early settlers who were part of this westward migration.
Next stop on the visit was the Combined Arms Center-Leader Development and Education, home to the Command and General Staff College, the Army’s “masters level” war fighting and staff operations school.
Housed in the new Lewis and Clark Center, the state-of-the-art training facility includes 96 modern, high tech classrooms to support the approximately 1,000 students in residence at CGSC. As stated in visitor literature from Fort Leavenworth, “ … Ft Leavenworth has always stood guard over our nation’s frontiers ... today’s frontiers now include frontiers of the mind: challenges in doctrine development, collective training, and leader education.”
To the cadets from Van Horn, the visit to the Lewis and Clark Center served as a visible and reinforcing testament to the concept of “life long learning” as a necessary component to a successful future.
After lunch at the Frontier Center Club facility, cadets toured the Leavenworth National Military Cemetery and the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial. The Leavenworth Cemetery is listed on the national Register of Historic Places and is the final resting place of several persons of note from the frontier period as well as six Medal of Honor recipients. The Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Park commemorates the significant history and contributions of African-American Soldiers and units in the US Army. The monument was dedicated by General Colin L Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first African-American to serve in that capacity, on July 25 1992.
The consensus of the student-cadets was their time at Fort Leavenworth was well spent. Several commented on the historic irony of cadets from Independence, a frontier trails town, visiting Fort Leavenworth, another significant frontier trails town.
The field trip reinforced two of the tenants of Army JROTC: to understand the importance of graduation from high school and to develop an understanding of life long learning as an essential component to supporting a positive, self directed, and productive future as a fully engaged citizen. The day was a good one for education and learning.
