FROG Week at UNG

[music]

(UNG: University of North Georgia)

(FROG: Freshman Recruit Orientation Group)

Maj. Richard Neikirk: (Assistant commandant of cadets) FROG Week is a military orientation program that indoctrinates our incoming new cadets to change from a civilian lifestyle into a military lifestyle. And we teach them right off the bat that this is a disciplined environment. We put everybody on the same playing field. Everybody's treated the same. And we teach them the basic structure of a military environment because we are a senior military college and we want those new cadets to start off on the right foot. It's all about learning how to instill some discipline in them. We do some team building and it's all about making teamwork work.

Col. Nathaniel Cutler: (Cadet commander of Boar's Head Brigade) It provides leadership opportunities for current cadets because they are put into the leadership positions where they're in front of and in charge of the new cadets coming in. So now they're making the decisions and providing for the needs of these new cadets, which allows them to grow and develop as a leader themselves.

Cadet Baine: Sir?

Cadet officer: That's sergeant major, right?

Baine: Yes, sergeant.

Officer: Put your face down! Make that video work, Baine!

[splashing]

Cutler: We had one cadet that was having a hard time and he felt like he wanted to quit and I walked up right when he decided that, so I got to sit down with him and talk to him and tell him about my experience at North Georgia and the leadership opportunities he'll have if he stays and he changed his mind and decided to stay. I saw him this morning and he was one of the most motivated FROGs that we have out there right now.

Laura Morales Cardenas: (Freshman cadet from El Paso, Texas) The rappelling experience was fun. It was really nervous getting in the L shape, mentally challenging but it was a great experience.

Cutler: Every cadet that's ever come to North Georgia goes through almost the same training when they go through FROG Week. So as they bond and become closer with their Froggy buddies and their company and they go on and graduate and commission and go into the Army or they go into the civilian world they meet other cadets that went through the same activities and training events that they did and they immediately have that bond and that relationship with them of saying "Hey, I went to North Georgia and I was a cadet in the Boar's Head Brigade so I understand you and I understand what you went through." And they immediately are on that family/friend level.

(Produced by the Office of University Relations)