Army National Guard Pvt. Kelsie A. Lange and Army Reserve Pvt. Benjamin I. Brest have graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C.

During the nine weeks of training, the soldiers studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values. They received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, physical fitness, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches and field training exercises.

Lange is a 2007 graduate of Free State High School, and Brest graduated from Tonganoxie High School in 2004.

¢Marines, veterans and friends are invited to attend a celebration marking the 232nd anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps. The Lawrence celebration is set for 2 p.m. Friday at the Dole Institute of Politics, on Kansas University’s West Campus.

The Lawrence High School Chorale is scheduled to perform, and Marine Col. Steve Brown, deputy commander of the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, will be the featured speaker.