Cadets train at West Point amid a pandemic

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Cadets learn to fire mortars, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

The pandemic is not stopping summer training at West Point.

Cadets had to wear masks this year for much of the training in a wooded area just beyond the main gates of the U.S. Military Academy. Future U.S. Army officers learned tactical and physical skills such as how to rappel, read maps, throw live hand grenades and navigate a water obstacle course.

Cadets went through field training Friday as basic training was held for members of the Class of 2024, who arrived last month at the historic academy 50 miles (80 kilometers) up the Hudson River from New York City. The new cadets promptly began four weeks of intense training and will be accepted into the Corps of Cadets on Aug. 15.

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More than 15 members of West Point’s graduating class tested positive for the coronavirus upon their return to the the U.S. Military Academy, which is preparing to host President Donald Trump for an unusual graduation ceremony that has been criticized as too risky during a pandemic.

West Point has adapted to the lingering coronavirus outbreak, requiring the 1,220 new cadets to immediately take a COVID-19 test when they arrived last month.

Here is a gallery of images from Mark Lennihan.

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