Tomorrow begins the 300th Training Platoon, marking quite an accomplishment for Lighthouse Corps and the 29th Infantry Division. A training platoon (TP) is a class of cadets trained for one week at Basic Combat Training. The first TP was 101, and any 29th members who were around before we labelled TPs were considered graduates of '100'.
Tomorrow marks that since Lighthouse Corps began four years ago, we have recruited, trained and graduated
two hundred classes of cadets!
To celebrate, here's a bit of 29th history. When I joined, Basic Combat Training (BCT) was instructed by SSgt. Glackin, and consisted of (from what I can remember) scrimmages, public play and a few other tips and tricks. Attendance was not as important as attitude. When I took command, the Drill Instructors (DIs) and I sat down and redesigned the programme. We tried many different options until we found one that worked.
The first one we tried, TP 101, lasted two weeks - 14 days straight. We called it '
October I', and the second two-week programme was to be called 'October II'. We then found that the DIs got just as worn out as the cadets, so we limited it to one week - 7 days straight - the
102nd TP. We soon found the same issue. Keep in mind at this time we only had 2 DIs. So we finally found the magic number - 5 days - and we've been doing it that way ever since.
Before I conclude, I think we should all give a 'thank you' to our Lighthouse staff - not only the current staff, but all the DIs, ADIs, enlistment liaisons, secretaries and chiefs of the past four years. Without them, we would not be celebrating this 300th TP, and we would not have 220 members. Putting so much of yourself into a set of fresh-off-the-boat cadets for five days straight is quite admirable, and quite necessary; I can't thank them enough.
I look forward to celebrating our 400th Training Platoon in one hundred weeks from now!
