Basic Training Graduation

(Instructors in first row)

NYS Disaster Drill

OH-Fest

In April of 2015, I turned over command  of the program to my (much younger) replacement, and scaled back my involvement in Job Corps to part-time.  I wish all present and future Cadets the best.


1st SGT K. Heidenreich (Retired)

Military Cadet Program Administrator 2009-2015

(Sergeant E-5 New York Guard 2003-2013)


Memorial Day

Karl Heidenreich                                          ACEFilmCo.com                                          Contact: acefilmco@aol.com     

The Military Cadet Program  (2009 - 2015)  at Oneonta Job Corps began in 2009 and from humble beginnings, grew into a highly respected adjunct to the Oneonta public safety and law enforcement community.










The varied facets of the program included the following:


  • Military Career Preparation: the Cadet Program conducts ASVAB tutoring and test administration, acts as a liaison to military recruiters and provides fitness readiness to potential recruits.  The beginning of a more disciplined lifestyle and constant improvement of mind and body is instilled in each Cadet.

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  • Deployable Volunteer Force: ten to twelve times per year, the Cadets work alongside the Oneonta Police, State University Police and State Police, providing traffic control and security at major community events.  Events include OH Fest, SUNY Graduation, Memorial Day Parade, Pit Run, Halloween Parade, Holiday Parade and the Tree Lighting on Main Street.  The highly trained Cadets provide traffic control and observe-and-report support to law enforcement.


  • Mission Essential Task List: on a weekly basis, the cadets receive hands-on instruction in a variety of military skills.  Topics include:


  1. Drill & ceremony, military values, military courtesy, respect, honesty, loyalty
  2. General military knowledge - rank, chain of command, phonetic alphabet, military time, care of the uniform
  3. First aid - CPR, AED and field first aid, wilderness survival, emergency preparedness
  4. Search and rescue - NYS DEC wild land basic SAR, casualty evacuation, urban SAR, rappelling
  5. Traffic control - vehicular access control, road closures and traffic rerouting
  6. Land navigation - use of the lensatic compass, topographic maps, dead reckoning and terrain association
  7. Self-defense - fitness through martial arts, boxing, judo, ground grappling
  8. Public relations - greeting visitors, conducting tours, accommodating the media
  9. Disaster preparedness - setting up, securing and administering a disaster relief aid station
  10. Radio communications - in support of all of the above tasks


Many locations in the Susquehanna Valley area are used for field training exercises, such as the use of

Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch for advanced land navigation.



  • Crossing Guard Program: at four city elementary schools, our Cadets served as crossing guards every day the Oneonta City Schools are in session.  For these paid positions, the Crossing Guards are specifically screened, trained and chosen from the 'best of the best.'   They have received praise from school personnel, members of the community and from City of Oneonta officials.


  • Recreation: on Saturdays, the Cadet Program also functions as a recreation program, conducting military museum field trips, hiking outings, leadership training sessions, and an all-time favorite, conducts infantry training and field tactical exercises (with non-firing rifle replicas) which culminate in a twice-yearly paintball tournament.


  • Special Missions:  the Military Cadets conducted wild-land search and rescue on three occasions following the series of storms (one being Hurricane Irene) to hit the region in 2011.  They were credited with bringing needed supplies to families cut-off from the outside by downed trees and other debris.  In November of 2012, the Cadets once again donned hard hats and reflective vests over their uniforms, this time in Coney Island, Brooklyn following Hurricane Sandy.  They literally made it possible for volunteer relief agencies to open a distribution depot at the projects (street gangs made the scene too ominous, until we arrived, and they left) and conducted door-to-door urban search, rescue and relief in the 18-story buildings (no lights, no elevators) alongside medical personnel and civilian volunteers from the NYC Housing Authority.


  • Disaster Preparedness: in preparation for (hopefully rare) actual disasters, the Cadets attend a biennial New York National Guard Disaster Drill held at the state training facility at the old Oneida Airport near Rome, NY.  Employed (and paid) as role-play actors, the cadets are outfitted with torn clothing and frightening moulage (theatrical wounds) in order to create as realistic an exercise as possible.  This week-long drill provides the Cadets with an intense experience  and their First Sergeant with some striking photographs.