LDAC Information for Family and Friends

A platoon photo purchased from the SmugMug site from LDAC 2010.

LDAC has moved to Fort Knox in 2014. For updated information see the following website. Be sure to click on all the links: clc.futurearmyofficers.com

For the address at Ft. Knox: ciet.futurearmyofficers.com/contacts

follow the Facebook page: U.S. Army ROTC Cadet Summer Training. They are using the hashtag #LDAC

There is a SmugMug site for photos linked on the Facebook page under “About.”

My son went through LDAC in 2010. I’ve been following the web sites listed above. They seem to try and fit information on all summer activities for cadets. The information provided about LDAC is not as thorough as in years past. For instance, I could not easily find a schedule for the regiments. In years past a grid of the training schedule was easily available. I have found that whomever is moderating the Facebook page is not answering questions in a timely manner.

***Updated with links for 2013***

Each June  Army ROTC cadets from across the country attend the Leadership Development Assessment Course (LDAC) at Joint Base Lewis McChord, just outside of the Seattle, Washington area. I wrote a blog post about LDAC a while back and it is beginning to get a few hits from anxious friends and family eager to find out whatever they can about the experience.

For some cadets and their families it is the first time they will experience and information void for a month. Within a day or so of reporting to LDAC they surrender their phones. I have learned not to complain too much about these small inconveniences. For families of enlisted soldiers they often go a few months with little or no phone calls. The calls they get a are a couple of minutes long. All that said they can have a calling card to make calls on a land line when they are at the main base and not in the field. In 2010 most moms who received calls said they came in after 11:00 PM EST. Bringing stamps is a good idea too.

A photo by LDAC 2010 PAO. I couldn’t find my son in any photos so I decided to select a photo and pretend he was in it;)

Cadets at LDAC can receive mail during their time away. Any food they receive must be consumed on the spot. They have no place to store food sent from home. I heard many stories from fellow moms that their cadet opened a package and promptly shared its contents with his or her platoon members.

The Public Affairs Office does a terrific job of updating family members through their Facebook page, the Warrior Forge blog and Flickr photo site.  Just about anything you want to know can be found on one of these sites. The Facebook group is posted each year around May or June. Just put LDAC then the year your cadet will attend in the Facebook search window. WarriorForge blog is a wealth of information. Enter the search term in the blog search window to find an entry on the topic. I’ll include some top links below.

If you check the Facebook page, WarriorForge blog and the base website and still have a question you can email the very helpful Public Affairs Office staff by email: [email protected]

Mailing address and Contact info:

To send snail mail to Cadets:

Cadet Lastname, Firstname
Warrior Forge xPLT, xCo, xRegt
PO Box 339543, JBLM, WA 98433

(x=the respective regiment, company, and platoon designator. If you don’t know this, just leave it blank.)

What do they do while at LDAC?

Graduation Details

Candid Photos of Flickr

More Formal photos on SmugMug

FINALLY. The day after graduation I found a photo of my son. He’s the one on the far right carrying the Guidon. photo by Joint Base Lewis McChord PAO