Thunderstorms, hard-hitting rain and finger-chilling mornings could not stop the Iowa State Army ROTC from enjoying a weekend at Camp Dodge in Johnston.

“If it ain’t raining, it ain’t training,” yelled a cadet as class members were preparing to fire their weapons.

Raindrops spanked the ground and popping sounds from rain hitting clothing were heard as water blanketed everything around. The grass swayed with the flow of muddy water and only the tips of the blades poked above.

The cold, sopping uniforms were cumbersome for the students. Many walked around stiff-legged with their arms slightly forward.

Veins of lightning quickly flashed in the dark skies followed by deep thunderous bellows from the heavens. That did not slow down the classmates from Military Science 101 and 201.

“The whole weekend was super,” said cadet Chris Greenfield. Greenfield, a senior, said the weekend was a motivational experience and the planning stages will help him in the future when he is looking for a job.

The senior cadets had staff meetings with each other, figured out logistical problems at Camp Dodge and planned for anything that could go wrong, Greenfield said.

“That’s the kind of management skills you can use wherever, whether that’s at McDonald’s or IBM,” he said. “My biggest fear was that we hadn’t planned for something.” He said he did not want to let anyone down.

Down is where many of the students and cadets found themselves heading when they rappelled off a 40-foot wooden wall. Sunday afternoon, several people who had never rappelled, made the trek down the repel tower.

“Request permission to enter the tower,” shouted each individual before climbing toward the top. Many of the students and cadets slowly made their way to the wooden platform above.

At the top of the repel tower, students leaned backward holding a rope. The legs of students went from perpendicular to parallel to the ground.

Sometimes their feet slipped during the attempt, and the students frantically used their hands and heels to find a secure grip on the wall. The sound of heels pounding the wood less than two feet away was heard. They could not see the ground below.

One student lost his footing and instead of looking up to the repel masters above, he found himself staring more than 30 feet below from an upside down position. For those who repel, his position would have been called an ‘Australian.’

Beforehand, the repel masters had thrown a stuffed animal dressed in the battle dress uniform of the Army over the edge to the surprise of the students below. Faces grimaced, hands clasped cheeks and screams filled the air as the figure came hurling toward the ground.

A loud gasp was released from those not-in-the-know when the helmet popped off and a teddy bear’s head was showing.

“My mouth dropped,” said Shelley Godwin, a freshman from Earlham. “I didn’t really think he was pushed off.”

Godwin broke her collarbone two weeks earlier and could not participate in firing weapons or the repel session. However, she was involved with the land navigation course.

A helicopter carrying a small group of students flew to a predetermined point in the woods around Camp Dodge and left the students out there to find five points and make it back to camp.

“You had to use a compass and a protractor,” Godwin said. “Our compass was off a little. We didn’t find all our points. I don’t actually think we found any the right way.”

Krista Preysberg, a freshman from Latvia, said this was a learning experience for her. Preysberg wants to become a U.S. citizen.

One of the events Preysberg said she enjoyed was firing an M-16 at pop-up targets. “I didn’t think of it as a human being or enemy,” she said. “It was the excitement of hitting a target.”

Preysberg is interested in going into the military and being a doctor. She was influenced by the movie Outbreak, starring Dustin Hoffman and Renee Russo.

“Just think of what a little virus can do to the human race,” she said. “After seeing the movie, I said, ‘Yes, this is what I want to do.'”

Greenfield, who had a father in the military, said he would like to be in the military for a few years but is looking at a career in law enforcement. He is going to be a military police officer when he graduates.

On the last day of the field training exercise the students made their way over to the field while “Danger Zone” from the Top Gun soundtrack blared over speakers set by the 40-foot wall.

Greenfield met the students — mostly freshman and sophomores — wearing dark aviator glasses. His eyes moved from cadet to cadet. No one in the formation could see his stare.

He stood with short-cropped hair and a black t-shirt that hugged his biceps.

On his wrists were two camouflaged velcro strips. They matched the camouflaged battle dress uniform pants he was wearing.

“I know this is cliche,” he said, “but I’m just looking for the opportunity to serve my country.”