Top cadet Benny Tran ’10
Every summer thousands of Army ROTC cadets descend on Fort Lewis, Wash., for the grueling 29-day Leader Development and Assessment Course. Known as Operation Warrior Forge, it’s the capstone training program for future Army lieutenants. They learn how to identify and defeat improvised explosive devices. They jump 30 feet from a rope bridge into water, and they take on the slide for life. This summer the cadet who earned the top spot among the 400-strong 1st Regiment was SCU student Benny Tran ’10.
The recognition marks Tran as one of the top cadets in the nation. He’s a Honolulu native studying biology with a biomedical emphasis, and last summer he volunteered for Airborne School and jumped from a C-130 at 1,250 feet. He was also part of the “heavy team” in the Bataan Memorial Death March marathon at White Sands, N.M., completing the marathon with army combat uniform, boots, 35-pound rucksack and water. This year he was captain of the “light team,” which took third place./p>
Tran was joined by a dozen other SCU cadets in Warrior Forge. Their creed says they are scholars and apprentice soldiers enhancing skills in the science of warfare and the art of leadership. They ask, “May God give me the compassion and judgment to lead and the gallantry in battle to win.”