![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Screenshot-of-10th-Mtn-Div-Shoothouse-Training.jpeg?resize=300%2C223&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nThousands of college-aged officers-in-waiting have congregated at the base for a months\u2019 worth of classes and field drills designed to imbue the Army\u2019s next generation of \u201ctough, adaptable leaders\u201d with the skills needed to \u201cthrive in ambiguous and complex environments.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some aspiring lieutenants, the ambiguous and complex environment that awaited them at CST may have been more than they bargained for.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Seems a bunch of kay-dets were surprised to find mess hall employees protesting instead of working in July.<\/p>\n
The videos\u2019 bold-texted captions claimed the protesting DFAC employees hadn\u2019t been paid in over a month. Richard Patterson, a spokesperson for U.S. Army Cadet Command (USACC), acknowledged in a statement to Army Times that the command \u201cterminated the food service contract that supported the Warrior Restaurants for CST on July 1st due to the contractor not fulfilling its obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Base leadership relied on extra stockpiles of Meals, Ready-to-Eat to plug the gaps in the food supply. Adding to the displeasure of replacing hot meals with pre-packaged feed, trainees found that many of the distributed MREs had expired.<\/p>\n
Patterson confirmed to Army Times that \u201csome of the MREs at Cadet Summer Training have passed their inspect\/test date stamped on the MRE cases by the manufacturer,\u201d but stressed that the out-of-date packets had been tested and inspected by certified food inspectors before distribution and were safe to eat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Okay, got the chow handled by July 7. Not well, but adequately. Then:<\/p>\n
On the morning of July 10, Cadet Summer Training personnel received a message from Knox leadership ordering them to \u201crefrain from drinking from all freshwater sources except the water point at Densberger and bulk water at LSA Baker,\u201d two facilities on base.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The water issue was sorted out in a couple of days. According to one fo the cadets who had apparently vacationed there before:<\/p>\n
\u201cUSACC willfully ignores [quality of life] for cadre and cadets every summer,\u201d one ROTC graduate vented in response to a comment request from Army Times. \u201cSame BS, different year.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n