2022 Camp Grafton

  • On Wednesday, 5 October 2022, 42 cadets from ND-20061 and 4 chaperones departed South High School for the North Dakota Army National Guard installation near Devils Lake, ND called Camp Grafton.  After leaving South High School at around 1700 hours, the cadets stop on old highway 81 just west of the airport to pickup trash along their assigned segment of the highway.  After picking up trash for about an hour, the cadets loaded the bus and continued their trip to Camp Grafton.  During the 2.5 hour trip, the cadets enjoyed a meal of Subway sandwiches and were treated to the movie "Avatar".  The cadets arrived at Camp Grafton with just enough time to get settled in to the barracks and take showers before lights out at 2200 hours.  The next morning, the cadets were up early at 0600 hours, changed into their ABUs and headed out for the morning reveille formation.  After reveille, the cadets marched to the Post Dining Facility for a tasty breakfast and returned to the barracks to clean up their areas for the morning inspection.  After inspection, the cadets formed up for a 2-mile march to the Leadership Reaction and Obstacle Courses.  The morning and most of the afternoon were spent refining the cadets' leadership and teamwork skills on the Leadership Reaction Course and their physical fitness skills on the Obstacle Course.  At around 1100 hours, the cadets got the opportunity to experience what it's like to eat in a deployed military environment by having Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) for lunch.  At 1600 hours, the cadets marched back to the barracks where they changed into their PT uniform and then formed up for retreat.  After retreat, they headed to the Dining Facility for dinner, which was followed by a few games of volleyball and kickball.  At 1900 hours, the cadets returned to the barracks where their flights participated in games such as Uno, Jeopardy, and Charades.  After the flight games, it was showers followed by lights out at 2200 hours.  The next morning, the cadets arose at 0600 hours, participated in reveille, ate breakfast at the Dining Facility, and then headed out for their morning activities.   The cadets spend the 3.5 hours in the morning rotating through various activities including blackhawk helicopter rides, weapons simulator, and convoy trainer.  At 1130 hours, the cadets ate lunch at the Post Dining Facility and then loaded the bus for the ride back to Fargo.  The cadets arrived back at Fargo South around 1500 hours.  Special thanks go out to SSG Runyon and Meredith Muhs for helping out as chaperones, and to the North Dakota Army National Guard for allowing us to use their facilities and providing the Blackhawk helicopter rides.