Tyler VanderLaan smiles at his West Point Acceptance Ceremony. VanderLaan graduated with the Lahainaluna High School Class of 2010.

LAHAINA — Cadet Tyler VanderLaan, the son of Greg and Kim VanderLaan of Lahaina, recently completed Cadet Basic Training (CBT) at the U.S. Military Academy.

Tyler entered West Point on June 28 and successfully completed seven weeks of CBT. Also referred to as “Beast Barracks,” CBT is one of the most challenging events cadets 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.

VanderLaan 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. 

Tyler graduated this year from Lahainaluna 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.”

West Point is ranked the “Top College in the Country” by Forbes and “Top Public Liberal Arts College” by U.S. News & World Report. The U.S. Military Academy is a four-year, co-educational, federal undergraduate liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City.