Local man completes training at West Point

Cadet Richard David Smith, son of Richard and Lisa Smith of Nesquehoning, and the grandson of Gerald and Loretta Piacenti of West Hazleton, completed Cadet Basic Training at the U.S. Military Academy.

Smith entered West Point on July 1 and has successfully completed six weeks of CBT. This training is one of the most challenging events a cadet will encounter over the course of his or her 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.

Smith began classes Aug. 19. The West Point curriculum offers 37 majors balancing physical sciences and engineering with humanities and social sciences leading to a bachelor of science degree.

Smith graduated from Panther Valley High School. He plans to graduate from West Point in 2017 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.