Alex Messmer, 14, of Arnold recently graduated from the Sea Cadet boot camp.
During the camp, held June 22-July 4 at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa, Alex, a Fox Middle School eighth-grader, completed training and a variety of physical activities.
The U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps is a nonprofit civilian youth organization for people ages 11 through 17. Alex is a member of a Sea Cadet group that meets each month at the Naval Operational Center near Lambert Airport in Bridgeton.
Alex, the son of Greg and Tammy Messmer of Arnold, is also a member of Boy Scout Troop 501 and is working to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
His mother said the Sea Cadets program teaches kids “valuable life lessons,” as well as “discipline” and “how to handle challenges.
The Sea Cadets will attend a Navy Ball in October, wearing their dress white uniforms. They also will march in the Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 8 in St. Louis.
Now that Alex has graduated from the boot camp, he is eligible to attend advanced training around the world, learning a variety of skills, like basic scuba diving, airman aviation and more, his mother said.
Once they’re 18, if Sea Cadets enter the military, they join at higher rank than other recruits, she said.
She said Alex plans to join the Marines after high school graduation.
