There is no doubt that you will be very busy during the MS III Year! For this book to have value and provide you with useful insight and knowledge to LDAC, you must be read this book in its entirety multiple times and read specific sections again prior to and after attending class and lab. For example, if you read the Land Navigation section prior to attending class, you will be able to ask pertinent questions for future application. Reading it again after class will allow you to absorb more information and the ability to apply the information during practical exercises at lab. The sections are designed to read relatively quickly and to the point without a lot of fluff! It also assumes that you have a basic level of understanding and can apply the techniques and concepts with practice. If you are a MS I or II reading this book, it is designed to give you a head start and get you prepared for your MS III year. Therefore, I encourage everyone who reads this book to adopt an active learning approach. Simply reading the text once will not give you the fidelity and level of understanding required for attending LDAC. There will be items that do not make sense to you during the first reading. There will be areas that don’t make sense to you after the second reading. However, if you apply yourself and create discussion during class and lab, there will be a point when you will experience a EUREKA moment. At this point, your vision will become clear to the insights and the necessity of these tidbits of information. Hold study groups with your classmates and discuss the information after reading information in this book, implement these concepts during labs and FTXs and most of all don’t wait to implement this valuable information until you have read the entire book. Experiment with the ideas presented, reflect on these experiences and refine them before attending LDAC. Practice makes perfect and if you wait until two weeks before LDAC to read this book, you missed the boat but you still have hope if you read it now. While reading this book or during practical application, a variation of the techniques may surface that suites your style of understanding and level of performance. By all means, if it works, implement it!

   Finally, realize that you must study ROTC material just like information from any other college level course. I always demanded the best from Cadets and I never let them have the satisfaction of turning in a substandard assignment without going back and correcting their mistakes. You should demand this caliber of work from yourself. After all, there is a National Order of Merit List (OML) that places you in competition with your peers to receive your branch of choice. Therefore, study the material and increase your chances of receiving your desired branch. As with any article, book or instruction manual, there is no one secret that you can read to make you succeed at LDAC. However, I can assure you that reading this book will give you the insights, knowledge, perspective to improve your skills and finally, the awareness of the Cold Hard Facts of LDAC resulting in reducing your fear of LDAC.

Rod Cruce