There are currently seven Belize Defense Force soldiers studying at foreign military academies. Three of those privates are at West Point, the prestigious U.S. military academy in New York. Roberta Usher and Justine Swift left Belize in 2005 to attend West Point. Today, 19 months later, we caught up with Justine Swift and found out how life has changed for the corporal cadet.

Keith Swift Reporting,
We first met Justine Swift in June of 2005. The then 22-year-old BDF private had just been accepted into the prestigious U.S. military academy at West Point. For her it was a dream coming through.

Justine Swift,
[June 20th, 2004] "For me its more than just a dream I had when I was a little girl, its an accomplishment especially being one in 22 from around the world to be selected as a candidate for West Point."

Today - two years later - we sat down with Cadet Justine Swift.

Cadet Justine Swift,
"My name is Cadet Justine Swift, I am a Cadet Corporal and I am a proud Belizean."

Justine - the cadet corporal - is not the shy and unassuming BDF private we met 19 months ago. She is no longer petite - she describes her body as ripped. But more than just physical mass, her presence is more pronounced and confident. Justine says that comes from the rigorous and demanding training at West Point.

Cadet Justine Swift,
"Last year has been pretty rough. We did a lot of training, a lot of offensive and defensive operations, military tactics and stuff. It has been very challenging. I came a really long way from being athletically incapable to athletically capable and I am motivated a lot more."

And its not just physical - Justine says her first two years at West Point have also been mentally strenuous. She concedes that it is a bigger challenge than she expected.

Cadet Justine Swift,
"It was a little bit more than I expected but I always tend to overestimate before I go so I was able to fit right in and get on par and on track as soon as I started."

Justine says she has never thought about giving up. That is because she says she realizes that she isn't just Cadet Corporal Justine Swift - she is Belizean Cadet Corporal Justine Swift.

Cadet Justine Swift,
"I am a proud Belizean and I always tell everybody out there that you better Belize it so I am very proud and whenever I think of giving up, I think of what I represent, I represent a beautiful country that's very diverse so I just carry on."

She carries on and now that she is well on the way to completing one dream - she already has her sights set on another. She wants to be the first woman who'll be commander in chief of Belize's army.

Cadet Justine Swift,
"I hope one day I might be the first female General in Belize, you never know what could happen. But I also hope that I will be a role model to a lot of people and a lot of hopeless kids out there that think that there is nothing out there. I serve as great proof to my young Belizean brothers and sisters that there is a whole new world out there and you can be all that you can be."

And at a confident just a little bit gung ho age 24 - there's no doubt that Cadet Corporal Justine Swift will accomplish all she wants to.

Of course, when she's done the corporal cadet will return to Belize to serve in the BDF. And if you are wondering why Justine Swift is in Belize - she is on sick leave. She will return to west point later this year. Her major is information technology. The third Belizean currently at West Point is Mathew Gillett who wants to be a pilot. He began his studies a year ago.