Blair named Company C Commander at VMI

Pictured: Blair is shown holding the banner, second from the right.

The Virginia Military Institute recently announced ranks for the 183rd Regiment for the 2022-23 academic year and a Belle Haven student was among the recipients.

Aiden Blair ’23, from Belle Haven, Virginia, where he attended Broadwater High School, has been named Company C commander. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honors society. He has served as cadre for Company C for three years, was company clerk as a 3rd Class cadet and first sergeant as a 2nd Class cadet. Blair did not know what to expect when he first came to VMI. When his company commander said, “Charlie Company rats, fall in!” he quickly realized that he was entering something amazing.

One of the best experiences that he has had at VMI happened at Breakout (when rats become cadets). “As we were coming up the hill to do our crawl across the parade field, I noticed that one of my brother rats was completely exhausted and having a hard time moving. I grabbed him by the arm and helped him up the hill. I did not notice that one of my cadre sergeants was on his other side helping him too. We were three people, from different backgrounds but with one common goal. It was then that I knew that Company C was not just a group of people, but a family,” stated Blair.

A large influence in Blair’s life is his father, Capt. Kenneth Blair, who serves in the North Carolina Army National Guard. “I have always looked up to my father, who never set expectations nor pressured me into joining the military. He has shown me that you are able to do whatever you set your mind to, and nothing is impossible. You can overcome anything with hard work and determination. You cannot let one obstacle define who you are and always remember that there is someone looking up to you, so do not let them down.”

Blair is commissioning into the U.S. Army, Virginia National Guard. He aspires to have his own engineering firm on the Eastern Shore.

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