Patrick Laird completes basic training at U.S. Military Academy

WEST POINT - Cadet Patrick Andrus Laird, son of Mr. and Mrs. Randall Laird of Monroe, completed Cadet Basic Training at the U.S. Military Academy. Laird entered West Point on June 28 and has successfully completed six weeks of CBT. Also referred to as “Beast Barracks,” 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. Laird began classes Aug. 16. The West Point curriculum offers 45 majors balancing physical sciences and engineering with humanities and social sciences leading to a Bachelor of Science degree. Laird graduated from Monroe-Woodbury Senior High School. He plans to graduate from West Point in 2014 and be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. The mission of the U.S. Military Academy 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, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the United States Army.