0 7W7 Wedesdy, .epembr 2137B LDAC in 1,000 Words by Matthew Blanchard online COmments issue 9/413 Making a Movement: How a small group of students united behind a fringe issue and changed University policy "What was really incredible about this was that such a strong movement happened among members of an elite group (UM students) who were working hard to make it easier for other people to join that group. Most of the students in this movement had nothing to gain personally from its success, but they fought on behalf of others. So now can UM students fit for others and for themselves, and fight the rising tide of tuition?" US ER:Cerebrallvvnurs the science of it all: smell ya later bypaigepearcy Join the 0a1 ! Come to our Mass Meetings! Thursday,aSeptember 12 at 7:30 P.M. Sunday, September 15 at 7:30 P.M. Tuesday, September 17 at 7:30 P.M. Thursday, September 19 at 7:30 P.M. All meetings are in our newsroom at 420 Maynard Street, behind Betsy Barbour and Newberry Residence Halls. Picture this: You're walking down a busy street in a city filled with loud noises and stimulating sights. You pass a small bakery and catch a whiff of the most recent batch of cookies. A chill runs down your spine. You wince. Your mind flashes back to that time when you were six, learning to bake cookies with your grandma and accidentally burned your hand. Your hand became vibrantly red, blistered and it was painful for a week. Your mood converts from bliss to melancholy. Until this moment, you hadn't thought about that in years, decades even. And all this came from a smell? "How weird!" you think. But no, it's not weird: It's neuroscience. Okay, so maybe this didn't hap- pen to you. Maybe you didn't ever burn your hand or even learn to bake cookies - a true crime - but the idea that a smell can trigger memories, both good and bad, is true. It's called the Proustian Effect named after Marcel Proust, a French writer who was the first to write about the effect, albeit not scientifically, but as an observa- tion in his novel "In Search of Lost Time.' Unlike the other senses which pass through the thalamus - a relay station for movement and sensory information in the brain - before moving to the cerebral cor- tex for processing, smells transmit directly to the olfactory bulb, without interruption. In fact, a smell has been proven more likely to trigger emotional memories than a sight or a sound because of its direct entrance to the brain. The olfactory bulb is located close to both the amygdala - the area of the brain where emotion and emotional memory is pro- cessed - and the hippocampus - the area of the brain connected with more general memory. "The memories associated with emotions and smells are likely to be unexpected and less focused, more nostalgic." The close proximity of these regions with the site of processing ca actively try to remember that time your dog died or when you saw a car accident. However, when one focuses on details, they don't focus on the feelings they are feel- ing. For example, you're trying to remember what your professor is saying in class. When you recall that moment, you remember the words, but you don't remember that you were depressed from get- ting a less than satisfactory grade on that paper you just were hand- ed back. Details and emotions are stored in two different areas of the brain. Thus the memories associ- ated with emotions and smells are likely to be unexpected and less focused, more nostalgic. The things you didn't want to remem- ber but are encoded in your brain anyway. This is why when you smell a man walking by wearing the same cologne as your ex you may be filled with sadness, or when you smell a flower, it could trigger your happy memories of Hawaii. For every cadet in Army ROTC, the acronym "LDAC" is something omi- nous. It represents fear, expectation, anxiety and the unique feeling of proving one's self. Pronounced "eldahk," it stands for Leadership Development and Assessment Course - a nationwide camp that sees thou- sands of future Army Officers every year. The course lasts 29 days, and is housed at Fort Lewis near Seattle, Wash. The purpose of LDAC is to serve as a culminating train- ing event and evalua- tion period for any cadet wishing to earn a com- mission in the United States Army. I've participated in 6 Army ROTC since my" freshman year at the University. Our pro- gram stresses a strong emphasis on training us to perform well at N LDAC. Why? Because g our overall performance at LDAC says a lot about us. It speaks to how we handle stress, how much we have learned, how well we work with oth- ers, and whether or not we can handle military environments. It's a mili- tary and life test, and we get a career-changing grade. Our evaluations are part of our overall packet which determine our branch - Infantry, Engi- neer, Aviation, Military Intelligence, etc. - and duty station. LDAC is broken into three phases: garri- son, assembly area and patrol base. Garrison is spent sleeping in dorm-like buildings. The assembly area and patrol base phases are spent in large tents with periodic restless nights in the woods. Since LDAC is about evaluating cadets ability to lead, our leadership positions change every day. While in leadership, our every move is critiqued. When my evaluation day came in garrison, I approached it with high energy. I was highly motivated, ready to wake everyone up, fully prepared for our day's training, and ready to "valiantly" lead my peers. In truth - though I did not know it at the time - I was leading in appearance, not actuality. It was too soon to understand the needs of my squad, and my motivation developed as a result of my assessment. When I strutted into Captain Brooker's office to receive my evaluation, I fully anticipated an "E" for "excellent." Minutes later, I left confused and disap- pointed: "S" for "satisfactory." Surely the system was broken. Surely I deserved an "E", and the captain did not know what he was talking about. However, Lw -( laugh, make plans. You'll make it through." With my renewed attitude firmly in hand, LDAC seemed quite a bit easier. My goals no longer circumvented my ego, but something much more important. My notions about leadership were challenged, and I am a better person for it. But, in order to better paint a picture of LDAC, it's better to look at all cadets as a whole, rather than one cadet alone. Transitioning out of garrison, our regi- the smell stimulus provides the link of smells with memory. Like- wise, it explains why the memo- ries associated with smell are of N the emotional type rather than the episodic type, which involve par- ticular details.v This goes into a more compli- cated idea associated with the smell memories: They are com- pletely involuntary. When one actively tries to remember things, they focus on details, on the ele- ments they want to remember - they're selective. You wouldn't I 0I z Z m a a 0 3 it was later that same night that I learned something about my own leadership. A mem- ber of my squad told me a cadet, James, was outside crying on the steps. When I went out- side to talk to him, he told me he had lost his medical qualification for Aviation and maybe even the Army as a whole. "How crushing," I remember thinking. This kid's dream of being in the military is being threatened, and here I am getting ang- sty over an "S" rating. Something became apparent to me that night. I could choose to focus on myself and my own desire for suc- cess, or I could seek to help those who need- ed a calm and comforting voice. Helping my peers through LDAC was a vow to which I became truly committed after that moment. That night after talking with James, I left him with a note: "If you want to make God ILLUSTRATIO BY ME: ment moved out of luxury and into the woods. Next stop: Land Navigation. Four nights of unsheltered sleep - no buildings or tents - were accompanied by busy days in the hot sun. Physical stress met psychologi- cal wear and tear, and so began the process of emotional decay. The once optimistic felt their resolve smoldering beneath them. Pain from chaffing, a lack of proper hydration, freeze-dried food and poor sleeping condi- tions started to break the locks, and demons started showing their ugly heads. Our food came in the form of Meals Ready to Eat. They are freeze-dried packages con- taining snacks, entrees and deserts, but lack- ing the flavor and texture we take for granted at home. Proper politicking ensured a good- tasting MRE, thus moist towelettes and Skit- ties became a valid currency. The living conditions during marksman- ship, obstacle course, hand-grenade-assault"' course, first aid, squad tactics and patrolling did not much improve the tempo. It took strong, interpersonal control to not act on the frustration and discomfort, to suppress lashing out, talking back, or being hurtful to one another. Not everyone broke down, but at some point many cadets became toxic to working as a team - yelling and de-railing exercises. While fixated on our own dis- comfort and pain, it's dif- ficult to remember those around us and the purpose behind our training. The emotionally resilient cadets were able to ignore their own ailments and care for their buddies instead. LDAC teaches two pow- erful lessons: First, we learn about our own leadership style and how. we change under stress. We learn that being genuine and taking care of each other is the most fulfilling of feelings. Second, that people really, change. In the absence of sleep, quality food and van- ity, people lose sight of the big picture. These are rare lessons; ones only experi- ence can teach. LDAC is anticipation and expectation. It is four hours, silent, laying in a bush look- ing down the sights of an M16. LDAC is ignoring the mosquitos and heavy eye- lids. LDAC is learning about oneself. LDAC is seeing what people can become, both posi- tive and negative. But, most importantly, LDAC is an opportunity to see who we are at our limits. It is a great, tough and worth- while opportunity, and not one I would trade for any other experience. On the bus ride back from patrolling, someone burst out singing Taylor Swift. Everyone joined in, and we realized it was over. We had overcome a life test together and we knew each other during the highs and lows. Each of us had grown as indi- viduals, but nothing felt better than coming together - unified and collectively stronger Matthew Blanchard is an Engineering senior and the University's Army ROTC cadet battalion commander.