WEST POINT – Basic training for the US Military Academy at West Point ends each year for new cadets with roughly a 12-mile road march to their new home at the base. About 1,150 cadets reported in on July 2 to begin the six-week period of summer training known as "Beast Barracks" at Camp Buckner.

Challenges this summer included a modified program, including high-risk, live fire combat training and the return of live hand grenades, which had not been done in many years, according to Cadet Cpt. Reginald Commander Thomas Ott. He took over command of the cadets for the latter half of basic training.

"The biggest battle, I would say, was probably the thunderstorms that rolled through…and lightning, which can be very detrimental to training, but at the same time we always have mitigation and nobody got hurt," said Ott, originally from Coopersburg, PA.

Three, six and 10 mile hiking exercises prepare the cadets well for the final, 12-mile march, he said, to keep blisters and fatigue to a minimum.

Temperatures were well below dangerous ranges at about 80 degrees F on Monday.

John No from Woodside, NY called it a "pretty good hike," saying it felt good to finish off the six-week experience. No was inspired to enlist at the academy at 14 during a class trip and spent a year in the US Military Academy Preparatory School. His father and grandfather both served in the South Korean military.

"It was definitely fun. You really get into the soldiering stuff, and spend a lot of money in government equipment just blowing stuff up. But also really building the teamwork and camaraderie you see around West Point," No said.

During the six weeks they were trained in land navigation, live fire training with machine guns and grenade launchers and tactical casualty combat care. They'll graduate as officers in the US Army in 2016.