The last week of April, Rebecca and I had the opportunity to be at the ALERT Academy in Big Sandy, TX. I think we had over 1500 people attending the ATI conference.
Rebecca and I helped with the ALERT Cadet Challenge, or ACC part of the conference, helping the 500+ young men during the day.
My role was to teach basic first aid skills to the men.
We had a lot of fun teaching those skills, and causing the young men to think about other ways that we can help others, as we focused on what it means to be meek, and how Christ was meek.
Building stretchers, using bandages to put splints on, stopping bleeding, protecting and using C-spine. Checking at pulse, etc. We taught that 2 times each day, for 3 days, and then helped in other functions as well.
The last day, I was asked to fill in, and be the unit leader for one of the groups of young men, as their unit leader became sick. So I enjoyed doing that, since that is one of the ways I got involved with Cadets 8 years ago.

It was a good week, and we got to meet people, and serve.

Some photos below show Rebecca helping with registration, the young guys and John teaching.













The second week we stayed at ALERT, we were helping with the LTC camp, which is an intense one week long camp for young men 14-17.

I believe this is the 5th year I have assisted as a unit leader. This year, we had four unit leaders, under the leadership of Capt. Stoner and Officer Richard Shoemaker.
Each unit at 15-16 young men, that were asked and challenged to follow a rigorous schedule.

Waking up early, doing PT(Physical Training), taking care of uniforms, and having room and uniform inspections daily.
This year we focused on CRT training. That means Crisis Response Training. Learning First aid/CPR, ICS(Incident Command Structure), Sawyer, SAR (Search and Rescue) and compass/navigation/maps work.

All this class and practical time, plus hikes, and service project, taking down quite a few trees.

Lots of fun things mixed in too.

We had a good amount of fun, but the best times for me come when I see the unit pulling together, and getting to share with them, loving them, encouraging them.

This year we were blessed to have 11 fathers accompany their sons during this program, which speaks volumes, and I highly value.

After the two week stay, we made the 7 hour drive home, and got some rest!

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