Gurnee resident completes basic training at West Point

Submitted by Susan Collins

Cadet T.J. Collins, son of Edward and Susan Collins of Gurnee, completed Cadet Basic Training at the U.S. Military Academy.

Collins entered West Point on July 2 and successfully completed six weeks of CBT. CBT is one of the most challenging events a cadet will encounter over the course of their four years at the academy.

The initial military training program provides cadets with basic skills to instill discipline, pride, cohesion, confidence and a high sense of duty to prepare them for entry into the Corps of Cadets. Areas of summer instruction included first aid, mountaineering, hand grenades, rifle marksmanship and nuclear, biological, and chemical training.

Collins began classes on Aug. 18 and is also serving on the intercollegiate Debate Team. The West Point curriculum offers 37 majors, balancing physical sciences and engineering with humanities and social sciences leading to a Bachelor of Science degree.

Collins graduated from Warren Township High School. He plans to graduate from West Point in 2018 and be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

The U. S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, coeducational, federal undergraduate liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America's first college of engineering and is world-renowned for leader development.

Its mission is to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of duty, honor, and country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U.S. Army.

For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu.

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