Army
Cadets Benefit from
Bengal Raiders T r a i n i n g By Brenda Macon
A
Photo courtesy LSU Army ROTC
rmy ROTC commander Lt. Col. John Wright credits the Bengal Raiders, a group of cadets who put in extra time and activity in military training, for going the extra distance to become outstanding soldiers. The leaders put members through rigorous training
exercises that are roughly equivalent to the Army’s operations courses for future Rangers.
Paxton Haydel, the cadet who currently leads the Bengal Raiders, agrees with Lt. Col. Wright’s assessment of the group, commenting, “This organization strives to improve every aspect of a cadets’ career, especially physical fitness and tactical leadership.” The group was formed at LSU in 1963 by Capt. James Burl Hansard, who created the organization to better prepare second lieutenants for Vietnam. Hansard served five years at LSU after his first tour of duty in Vietnam. He had lost several young second lieutenants during battle and was determined to find a way to train his young cadets for survival. After completing his assignment, Hansard returned to Vietnam, where he was killed on Oct. 23, 1968. Cadets in Bengal Raiders today are faithful to the training that Hansard began. “Our organization consists of intense physical training and infantry tactics,” Haydel explains. “We currently have nine active members of the organization and twelve cadets who are still in training to reach active status. To achieve active status, a cadet must complete one year of instruction from the raider actives. The first semester trainees are in the ‘follow’ mode
and are led by their second semester trainees. The purpose of this is to allow the second semester trainees an opportunity to lead other cadets and prepare them for active status as an instructor and to also better prepare them for their general ROTC training.” At the end of the semester, the cadets must pass a series of rigorous hurdles, including a written exam on tactics, a score of at least 270 out of 300 on the army physical fitness test, and the raider qualification course. The qualification course consists of a twelve-mile march, which must be completed in under three hours, a tactics lane, weapons knowledge, and practical application of military skills. When asked about whether the Bengal Raiders prepares cadets for advanced training, such as Ranger school, Haydel has a strong affirmative: “I believe that this is the best organization to prepare you for it. I have talked to alumni of our group who have told me that, while in Ranger school, they often fell back on skills they had learned in the Raiders.” Having this specialized training program at LSU is one more reason that ROTC is still going strong at LSU.
LSU Alumni Magazine | Spring 2012
39