The Iowa State University Reserve Officer Training Corps recently revamped its summer field training program.

The new system, called Mutual Respect, is not based on pushing cadets, said Capt. Mike Slater of the ISU ROTC.

Jasen Beckman, who attended this summer’s eight-week training camp in San Antonio, Texas said, “instead of punishing someone, they ask you if you know the procedure first. If you don’t, they explain it to you.”

But once a cadet is told how to do the procedure, he or she is expected to remember it.

“You’re not afraid of the consequences. They ask you whether you know the procedure. If you don’t know what you did wrong, they teach you and do not punish you,” Beckman said. “It gives a better learning environment.”

Slater said the Air Force believes the best way to train is through respect.

The ROTC, he said, follows a five-step Mutual Respect training model.

The first step on the model is “expectations,” where introductions are made and a positive attitude is set. The second step is “skills,” where officials determine what procedures cadets know and why.

The third step is “feedback,” followed by consequences and growth.

“We are setting them up for active duty by sharing respect from the beginning,” Slater said.

The Mutual Respect system, he said, is a “more effective way to train in correcting behavior.”

“Attention rates are higher when they return,” Slater said. “There is a more positive atmosphere after returning from summer camp.”

The system, Slater said, has received a positive response thus far.