Staff Writer
The commanding general of U.S. Army Accessions Command got an idea of what Cadets are all about when he visited the Leader’s Training Course last week.
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley arrived at stream-crossing just in time to applaud 4th platoon of Co. D 1/46th Inf. as it completed a race and made the best cumulative time of all other platoons to come through LTC so far this year.
“You’ve set the standard for all of LTC ‘09,” said 2nd Lt. Tamara Hall, a committee officer at stream crossing.
Freakley later spoke to Cadets as they sat on the bleachers eating lunch across from the demonstration area, congratulating them on a job well done and telling them about the possibilities life as an officer in the Army can offer.
“When you first got here, you probably asked a lot of questions about ‘me.’ What’s going to happen to ‘me?’ ” Freakley said to Cadets. “Then you came here and got a battle buddy. Suddenly, it became about ‘us.’ ”
Freakley, with 34 years of experience in the Army, told the Cadets of 4th Platoon they will come out of LTC with an opportunity they can find nowhere else.
“Most of you will lead somewhere between 30 and 40 men and women,” he said.
“It’s a pretty big deal that you’re here,” said Freakley, adding the Army pays a lot of money to bring them to Fort Knox and conduct training.
He told Cadets of a time in his life when he was in a position similar to what they might be experiencing now.
“There’s no way I thought I’d be an officer in the Army,” Freakley said of his years at West Point. Years later, he would lead about 18,000 Soldiers in Iraq.
The general told Cadets they should be proud to be at LTC.
“We’re being more and more selective of who we’re bringing into the Army,” he said. “You’ve got to want us, and we’ve got to want you.”
Freakley also made clear that the Army does not tolerate bad behavior, and that upholding the Army Values is something of which to be proud.
“You know what’s unique about American Soldiers? When they’re asked to do something, what do you think they do?” he asked Cadets. “They do it.”