University of South Dakota ROTC, The Prairie Fire Battalion

Honored to walk where heroes rest 🇺🇸

USD ROTC cadets had the privilege of visiting the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, paying tribute to those who gave everything. We were especially honored to perform a sanding at the gravesite of Pvt. Lester R. Arneson, 47th Infantry, 9th Division, a fellow South Dakotan whose sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Moments like these remind us that freedom is never free—and that we carry forward the legacy of those who came before us.

Paestum, in southern , is where the ancient Mediterranean world and intersect. In September 1943, during Operation , elements of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division landed on the nearby beaches and pushed inland past these Greek temples, turning a landscape of classical ruins and farmland into a contested battlespace. The same columns standing since the 5th century BCE suddenly overlooked supply routes, aid stations, and assembly areas for an amphibious invasion.

For Allied units trying to secure the beachhead, functioned not as a tourist site than as a practical landmark and anchor point in a confused, dispersed fight. Pilots, staff officers, and platoon leaders alike used the temples and adjacent airfields for orientation as counterattacks drove in toward the sea. The juxtaposition is stark: modern mechanized war unfolding in the shadow of structures built long before Rome’s rise, in a region that had already absorbed earlier waves of conquest and upheaval.

When we bring cadets and leaders to Paestum today, we invite questions about how warfare intrudes into civilian landscapes with deep histories, how quickly “ordinary” places become operational terrain, and what it means for a leader to make decisions that will become part of that layered story. Standing between the temples and the former invasion beaches, we can see both the brevity of a single campaign and the enduring weight of the choices made there.

During WWII the royal palace of Caserta served as Allied Force Headquarters, hosting British and U.S. troops. The palace also served as the site for the formal signing of the unconditional surrender of German forces in Italy. Our Cadets got the privilege to visit this beautiful palace while here in Italy.

Sunday, our USD cadets had the chance to walk through one of the most incredible places where ancient history and World War II intersect — the ruins of the Temple of Athena
The landings were led by Lieutenant General Clark.
U.S. forces, including the 36th Infantry Division (United States), came ashore near Paestum and fought intense German resistance during the opening days of the battle.
During the fighting, the ancient temple complex became part of the wartime landscape. The archaeological area near the temples was used for field hospitals, communication sites, and staging areas, with Allied troops operating just meters from structures that had stood since the Greek world of antiquity.
Standing among these columns today is a reminder that history layers itself across centuries — from ancient Greece to World War II.

Walking the ground where history happened. 🇮🇹

USD ROTC cadets studying the beaches near the Port of Salerno where U.S. Army Rangers came ashore during Operation Avalanche in WWII. Seeing the terrain firsthand brings a whole new meaning to the sacrifices made here.

Why Italy? 🇮🇹 Because this is where mountains, weather, and coalition politics all crashed into each other and forced leaders to make hard calls with no good options. From Salerno to the Gothic Line, the ground here punishes sloppy planning and rewards leaders who can read terrain, logistics, and people at the same time.

On this staff ride, our leaders will wrestle with questions like: How much risk do you accept on a cliffside approach when delay costs lives elsewhere? When do you push an exhausted team up one more ridgeline, and when do you change the plan? How do you lead when coalition partners, limited supplies, and unforgiving mountains all say “no” at once?

This is why we prepare. Weeks before we ever land in Italy, our cadets are inside maps, orders, and first‑person accounts, already forming their own perspectives. That prep turns the trip from “look at this view” into “stand where they stood, argue the options they had, and decide what you would have done.” That’s the difference between tourism and .

Different terrain. Same mission. USD ROTC crushing pool PT this morning.

USD Cadet Spotlight: Danielle Beck 
Meet Danielle Beck, a Junior here at the University of South Dakota majoring in nursing. On top of her academics CDT Beck has also been a part of USDs Ranger challenge. After graduation CDT Beck plans to go to PA school in hopes to become a PA in the SDANG, and she hopes to branch Medical Service Core. CDT Beck’s favorite part of ROTC is the relationships and memories she has made throughout her time in the program, her favorite memories include getting post Ruck slushies with her fellow cadets!
We’re proud to have Beck as part of the USD community and ROTC family!

This week’s USD ROTC lab focused on weapons familiarization as cadets trained on the M4, M249, and the M240B to build confidence and proficiency in preparation for Advanced Camp