Cadet JUDD FORD, son of Pat and Cindy Ford of Oak Harbor, completed Cadet Basic Training at the U.S. Military Academy.
Ford entered West Point June 27 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, land navigation, hand grenades, rifle marksmanship as well as nuclear, biological and chemical training.
Ford 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.
Ford graduated from Oak Harbor High School. He plans to graduate from West Point in 2015 and be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Army National Guard Spec. MARK L. BINSCHUS has graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission and received instruction and training exercises in drill and ceremonies, Army history, core values and traditions, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, rifle marksmanship, weapons use, map reading and land navigation, foot marches, armed and unarmed combat, and field maneuvers and tactics.
He is the son of David Binschus of Landing Circle, Oak Harbor. Binschus received a bachelor’s degree in 1995 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Army Pfc. Davion J. Watkins has graduated from One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville, Mo., which included basic military training and advanced individual training.
During basic military training, the trainee received instruction in drill and ceremony, weapons qualification, map reading, tactics, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, and Army doctrine, history, principles and traditions.
During AIT, the soldier completed the military police specialist course to acquire skills to provide combat area support, conduct battlefield circulation control, area security, prisoner of war operations, civilian internee operations, and law and order operations. The trainee performed as a team member in support of battlefield operations, installation law and order operations and security of Army resources and installations. Additional training included providing peacetime support to the military community through security of resources, crime prevention programs, and preservation of law and order.
Watkins is the son of Gwendolyn M. and Donald D. Cole of Capital St., Oak Harbor. He is a 2010 graduate of Coupeville High School.
