Forged in the Field

When I first met the Army ROTC Recruits, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I became their unofficial photographer .. Prior to this my days were filled with homework and the usual routines I once found comforting. I had an intrigue with the ROCT program when I first caught wind of it, and even more interest when I was introduced to recruits.  

A motley crue of people in the middle of the desert, learning what it means to be apart of something bigger then themselves.

It was a cold morning when I walked onto the U.S Army's training field with my camera, feeling like an outsider. The man in charge Captain Bennett, was giving instructions to the recruits as too what they were going to be learning and what the expectation was.

As the wind picked up, dust swirled around the recruits are they shouted "I'm up, he see's me, I'm down" and aiming their rifles at the invisible enemy just in front of them . Fake gun fire echo'ed off each other mixed with laughter and yelling of the recruits.

As the day progressed, these recruits who originally thought me as an outsider. Someone who just barley on the edge of their tightly guarded inner circle, finally allowed me into their group, where I was able to make jokes with the recruits. Even going as far as giving them grief when they hit the ground too hard.

In those moments, I was no longer the photographer; I was someone who had earned the respect of the recruits and became an honorary member. This field exercise wasn’t just a training opportunity ; it was a challenge to embrace the difficult, and a lesson in resilience. Each tumble, running with guns, joking about how they ran and dropped during their drills, showed me what camaraderie really looked like.

Yeah, it’s exhausting, and it’s tough, but we push each other, and we come together as a team

James Maae

We push each other, we struggle together, and we get through it as a team.

Randy Faoasau