Senior ROTC Cadets Andrew Baker and Ryan Snyder recently participated in the United States Military Academy’s Battle Command Conference at West Point held April 19-21. The three-day event serves as the capstone event for seniors at West Point, with the goal being that the conference facilitates their development of a professional self-concept of officership.

The seminar, hosted in part by the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic, brought leaders from across the Army to share their experiences and address expectations of junior officers with the Cadets. The program was a combination of lectures and small-group discussions focused on leadership at the battalion-, company- and platoon-level in both combat and a garrison environment.

This year, 96 ROTC Cadets from across the nation were extended invitations to attend the conference alongside their peers from West Point. 

ROTC Cadets were assigned to a Cadet Company at the academy, as well as assigned a West Point sponsor who helped facilitate their three-day stay. ROTC Cadets resided in the USMA Cadet Barracks and took their meals in the Cadet mess hall. They also had the opportunity to hear from a number of senior leaders from West Point to include the academy’s superintendent, Lieutenant General David H. Huntoon, Jr.

Cadet Baker will commission in May and serve on active duty as an officer in the transportation corps, while Cadet Snyder upon commissioning will serve on active duty as a field artillery officer. Both Cadet Baker and Cadet Snyder have held key leadership billets in the Royal Warrior Battalion Cadet Chain of Command this academic year and be responsible for many of the unit’s successes over the past year.