While many people spent their summer at the beach, senior Oliver Lent did not.

Oliver spent two weeks of his summer at Camp Liberty Battleground in Alabama, doing a bootcamp simulation course. This camp was run by decorated former or current drill instructors in the US Army.

Oliver followed a basic training schedule from 5 am to 10 pm every day. This included cleaning, meals, rifle training, an obstacle course, physical training, underwater survival training, and much more.

Oliver said, “We had physical training twice a day for one to two hours. We did push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, had to roll in sand, did four-mile runs, army crawled in gravel, you name it.”

They had physical training competitions with other platoons for the final reward of honor platoon.

“My favorite part of the camp was the physical training; the physically difficult things challenged my mental strength, and I enjoyed the struggle. I also knew that while I was missing some football workouts, I was still staying in good shape with all my training sessions,” Oliver added.

He learned a lot about the importance of discipline. He saw that keeping a disciplined and productive schedule not only improved his way of life but also made him value his free time and time with family and friends.

Oliver said, “My least favorite part was being away from all my good friends back home. While I enjoyed the disconnect from social media and all, I did miss spending time with my family and friends, but I knew they would be there when I got back.”

Most of his drill instructors inspired him; he learned a ton about career opportunities in the military, specifically Special Operations from First Sargent Frederickson. His instructor D.I. Velasquez also went on nine tours and served in over 20 countries.

“The kids in my platoon who were from all over the world, mostly the US, inspired me to stick out the two weeks and get through all the tough parts of camp with them,” he commented.

Oliver has had an interest in joining the military because of his grandfather, Marcello Vache, who was a Tunnel-Rat in the Vietnam War.

He said, “It was my mom who really convinced me to do the camp. She knew it would be great for me and it was. She showed me videos from the camp nonstop which convinced me to commit to the camp.”

He commented, “Not only did it give me a good understanding of the military experience, but it also gave me a better understanding of myself. I feel much more mature coming out of it and have a stronger grip on my mind. It has helped me to think about life and what is to come.”