BY ANDY WHITE / FOR THE OBSERVER
BY ANDY WHITE
FOR THE OBSERVER
ALABAMA —
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s staff, along with teams from Sen. Katie Britt and Congressman Mike Rogers, led an informational town hall about the admissions process for U.S. Service Academies on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The event was held at Southern Union State Community College (SUSCC) in Opelika and was the seventh and final stop in a circuit of Alabama stops throughout the month of August.
Several speakers provided information and advice regarding necessary steps for obtaining the required congressional nomination if applying to attend any of the U.S .Service Academies. The calendar of stops also included Northpoint, Huntsville, Mobile, Homewood, Troy and Montgomery.
“Our national security depends on strong leaders in the next generation who are willing to defend America at home and abroad,” Tuberville said in a statement provided to The Observer. “It is encouraging to see so many students across our great state who are interesting in answering this call to serve. The high attendance at each of our information sessions gives me hope for the future of our national defense and security. Nominating students for appointments to a U.S. Service Academy is one of my favorite things about being a senator, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming nominations for the Class of 2028.”
Informational tables manned by representatives for each service academy were set up for the attendees. Potential Service Academy applicants and their parents were able to speak with the various representatives both prior and following the session.
The session, led by Tuberville’s office, kicked-off with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and was followed by a prayer led by Col. (Ret.) Brian Naugher, a 34-year Army veteran and 1986 Opelika High School graduate who is now serving as Tuberville’s senior defense liaison.
Additional participants included June Reeves-Weir — constituent services representative and service academy coordinator for Tuberville, Susannah Cleveland — field representative from Britt’s office; Alvin Lewis — field representative from Rogers office, 2nd Lt. Tristin Slone—graduate from the Air Force Academy, LTC (Ret.) Tony Benitez — Westpoint graduate and Junior ROTC instructor at Auburn High School, 2nd Lt. Logan Schultz — graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and LTC (Ret.) Thomas Bowen — Westpoint graduate and program director for Marion Military Institute.
The United States has five service academies: the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U.S. Military Academy (Westpoint), the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, each of which has a highly competitive admission process, accepting only 8 to 20% of applicants.
Unless applicants have a service-connected nomination (which are reserved for children of career military personnel), they must have a congressional nomination. The nomination can come from either of their state senators, the United States Representative for the District in which they reside, or the U.S. vice president. Because nominations are also highly competitive, speakers encouraged students to pursue every nomination available to them.
The presenters highlighted many of the benefits available to students who are successfully admitted into these prestigious service academies, including no tuition costs, free room and board, full medical and dental coverage, a cadet stipend, a career starter loan and a guaranteed career upon graduation.
Minimum requirements for nomination eligibility include:
• Must be a United States Citizen.
• Must be a legal resident of Alabama.
• Must be at least 17 years of age but cannot have passed their 23rd birthday. The United States Merchant Marine Academy allows individuals between the ages of 17 and 25 to apply.
• Must meet the medical, physical and academic requirements of their respective academy.
• Must have an open application with at least one of the U.S. service academies by Oct. 1, 2023.
• Cannot be pregnant or have a legal obligation to support children or other dependents.
Congressional nominations are competitive, with each member allowed only five appointees at each academy over a four-year period. This means that each member will typically only have 1 to 2 vacancies at each academy each year and will provide 10 nominations for each vacancy. Additionally, a congressional nomination does not guarantee admission to a service academy.
After nominations are received, the admissions department of each academy will review all nominees using their own stringent criteria. Speakers emphasized that students are assessed utilizing a “whole person” approach — which considers the applicants “character, scholarship, leadership, physical aptitude, medical fitness, personal goals and motivation.” While high school activities are important, speakers underscored the importance of exhibiting leadership skills over quantity of activities, such as being a president of an activity versus joining multiple clubs but not serving as an active member or leader.
Bowen rounded out the presentations by encouraging students who are interested in attending one of the service academies, but who do not yet meet the eligibility requirements or do not receive an offer of admission to consider attending Marion Military Institute (MMI), a Junior College in Marion, Alabama. MMI is one of only four military junior colleges in the United States and has a service academy program dedicated to preparing students for service academy appointments. MMI has provided 456 appointments in the last five years.
Interested candidates are encouraged to begin the application process early and to review the appropriate information on each congressperson’s website. Deadlines for nomination applications for Tuberville and Britt are due through their applicant web portals by Oct. 16 and Roger’s are due by mail no later than Dec. 15.
The following websites contain relevant information:
www.tuberville.senate.gov/services/academies/
www.britt.senate.gov/service-academy-nominations/
www.mikerogers.house.gov/services/service-academy-nominations.htm
