Saipan’s son continues to demonstrate excellence

Army Cadet Vince Lui Duenas Camacho, currently enrolled with a full scholarship in the Early Commissioning Program at Georgia Military College, has graduated from the U.S. Army’s Air Assault School on May 28, 2008. It was only a year ago when he graduated from high school with honors.

Today, he is already the recipient of two U.S. Army certification badges: Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge. He completed his Airborne Certification at the U.S. Army’s Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in November. He is also training to compete for the German Proficiency Badge this fall.

According to the U.S. Army Air Assault School, “the Air Assault Course is physically and mentally demanding. It requires a great deal of studying to pass the written tests and physical conditioning to pass the physical tests. If you have the stamina, intelligence, and ‘gut it out attitude’ you can become Air Assault qualified. If you rise to the occasion and successfully complete the Air Assault, Sling load, and Rappelling phases, and the 12-mile foot march, the distinctive right and honor to wear the Air Assault Badge will be yours.”

The Air Assault School has three phases: Combat Air Assault, Slingload, and Rappelling. After soldiers make it through Zero Day (rigorous test on their physical abilities), they proceed to the Combat Air Assault Phase where they become proficient in: air assault operations, pathfinder operations, hand and arm signals, aircraft familiarization, aircraft safety, and air-medical evacuation operations.

Afterwards, they move to the Slingload Operations Phase where they train on how to prepare loads for slingload of equipment such as: M101A1 Howitzer, M998 HMMWV, 5,000 lb. or 10,000 lb. Cargo Nets, A-22 Cargo Bag, and Multi-Fuel Blivets. Everything in this phase must be committed to memory, such as the tensile strength of equipment used in slingload operations, lift capabilities of supporting aircraft, and rigging and inspection of prepared loads.

Upon successfully passing the intricate tests of the slingload phase, soldiers transition to the Rappel Phase where they perform advanced rappelling from the 50-foot tower wall side (with and without equipment). Next, they rappel off the tower from the skid (open) side. Finally, they rappel from Army helicopters hovering at 100 feet above the ground.

In his final certification test, Camacho completed the tough 12-mile foot march in 2.5 hours with a full 30-pound combat load, helmet, and M-16 rifle. The standard is a 3-hour time limit to complete the march in order to graduate from Air Assault School.

Camacho has already reported to Fort Lewis, WA on June 3 to participate in the Leadership Development and Assessment Course. This rigorous 33-day training evaluates cadets who will be commissioned as second lieutenants the following year on their leadership potential to become Army officers.

Additionally, he is on orders to report to the 82nd Airborne Division’s aviation brigade at Fort Bragg, NC to take part in the Cadet Troop Leading Training program, immediately following his training at Fort Lewis.

Camacho will complete all of his training by the end of July before heading back to Georgia Military College for the fall semester.

He is the son of U.S. Army Major Lawrence Fejeran Camacho and Gina Duenas Camacho. His proud grandparents are Luis B. and Ursula F. (deceased) Camacho of San Roque; and Ben C. and Annie DLG. Duenas of Chalan Kiya. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]