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Since 2009, the academy has established a system to place the most qualified cadets with their desired competitive MIADs—select military individual advanced development programs, like Sapper School or the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Training. More than 300 cadets from the Class of 2014 and 2015 participated Oct. 20 in the MIAD Selection.The process included standard evaluations cadets are familiar with like the Army Physical Fitness Test, the Indoor Obstacle Course Test, Combat Water Survival Test and a ruck march. After this core assessment, cadets were split into platoons for school-specific assessments. Photo by Mike Strasser/USMA PAO

It’s not a summer vacation most people would fight for…but for future Army officers, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. More than 300 U.S. Military Academy cadets endured a rigorous daylong selection process Oct. 20 all in the hopes of securing the best military training opportunity next summer. Competitive MIADs—select military individual advanced development programs—have long been sought after aggressively by cadets wanting to attend top-rated Army and international training like the Sapper Leader Course, Pathfinder Training and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The selection process is the academy’s way of knowing the cadets who go are capable of successfully completing the courses. Photo by Mike Strasser/USMA PAO

Roughly 300 cadets from the Class of 2014 and Class of 2015 took on physical and mental challenges Saturday as they endured a daylong assessment in hopes
of earning one of several competitive MIADs next summer. Military Individual Advanced Development programs, like Special Forces Assessment and Selection,
the Sapper Leader Course and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst are highly-sought training opportunities and the MIAD selection process determines which
cadets want it the most by proving they are the best of the best. Photo by Mike Strasser/USMA PAO

With a tempting lunch on the grill, those cadets vying for a slot to attend the highly-competitive Special Forces Assessment and Selection program would have to fight hunger a little longer during the daylong selection process Oct. 20. Instead of burgers, they had to dump their rucks and account for every piece of inventory before continuing on to other physical and mental endurance tests. Photo by Mike Strasser/USMA PAO

It’s not a summer vacation most people would fight for…but for future Army officers, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. More than 300 U.S. Military Academy cadets endured a rigorous daylong selection process Oct. 20 all in the hopes of securing the best military training opportunity next summer. Competitive MIADs—select military individual advanced development programs—have long been sought after aggressively by cadets wanting to attend top-rated Army and international training like the Sapper Leader Course, Pathfinder Training and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The selection process is the academy’s way of knowing the cadets who go are capable of successfully completing the courses. Photo by Mike Strasser/USMA PAO