Footage and video by: Ryan Buell VMI '11
This is the raw footage of the Rat Mass of 2011+3 "breaking out" of the Ratline. At the Virginia Military Institute, the incoming cadets of every year begin the year without the title of "VMI Cadet" and without the proper title of their class. They begin as "Rats" with the designation "+3" added onto the end of their Dykes' class, their 1st classmen mentors.
From day one until usually around late January, a Rat Mass will endure what is called the "Ratline" in which many challenges are set forth for the new cadets. They must learn the system, master its ways, and secure a place of honor for themselves within the walls of barracks. When the 1st Class decides the Rats are ready to "Breakout" of the Ratline, the Rats are put through a rigorous week of physical and mental challenges, leading up to Breakout Day. On Breakout, a Rat Mass endures its hardest single-most challenging day in the Ratline, eventually earning the title of "VMI Cadet" and the right to be labeled by the year in which they will graduate.
For the Rat Mass of 2011+3 (now the Class of 2014), the day began at 0500 with the detonation of an artillery simulation explosion. Armed with M16s, M14s, AK47s, Civil War-era rifles, a Barrett M82, and our Cadet artillery piece "Little John," the upper class Cadets woke up 2011+3. The workouts swiftly began, following by shower and chow. The Rats were then bused outside of New Market, where they force marched to the New Market battlefield. Once they arrived it wasn't too long until more workouts began. As a result of the actual battle in 1864, ten VMI Cadets lost their lives while fighting side by side with their Brother Rats. To honor their memory, ten stations were set up around the battlefield, with each station honoring a single Cadet that died on the field of honor. With the help of the VMI Civil War round table, the Rats learned about each Cadet as they passed from station to station. With the help of the RDC and their Cadre, the Rats also got an extensive workout in each station. After completing all ten stations in memory of the fallen New Market Cadets, the Rats took their Rat Mass photo with the numbers "14" made in sandbags, a VMI Breakout tradition. The Rats then charged the battlefield, reenacting the charge originally mounted by the Cadets in 1864, which turned the tide of the battle and secured victory. But the job wasn't done, and the day wasn't over. Upon arrival back at VMI, the Rats had to earn their way up each stoop in barracks by completing a "sweat party" on each stoop conducted by each class in barracks. They Rats then had to pull three 105mm cannons up Letcher Avenue to the far end of the parade field, and fourteen shells were fired to honor the soon-to-be class. After a ceremony in old barracks with some "old yells," the Class of 2014 was officially welcomed into barracks.
Негізгі бет BREAKOUT, VMI Class of 2014 (Footage)
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