Students Vying to Enter Military Academies

Seventeen-year-old Jason Shane sat rigidly at a long wood table as seven military men and women interviewed him about his accomplishments and his goals.

Jason, a Moorpark High School student, was one of 17 local youngsters vying to attend one of the four U.S. military academies. Their application process included interviews Saturday by officials from the four branches of the military.

“I was very nervous,” Jason said after the 15-minute interview, “but they did a very good job in making me feel at ease.”

Jason, who has a 4.35 grade point average in high school, is captain of his school’s cross country team and is involved in several other activities, was not the only standout.

Bridget Nibler, a senior at Royal High School in Simi Valley, maintains a 4.3 grade point average. It’s the academies’ rigorous academic and physical curriculum that attracts 17-year-old Bridget.

“I would like a place that requires a lot of self-discipline and challenges me academically and physically,” she said. “And I think a military academy will force me to work harder.”

To attend a military academy, the applicants must meet high academic standards, be good athletes, be involved in the community and be nominated by either the president of the United States, a U.S. senator or a U.S. congressman.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who nominated the 17 youngsters, said he nominates as many as 30 high school seniors every year to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.; the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.; the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, in Kings Point, N.Y.

Each academy usually selects one of the candidates each year, Gallegly said. “Our job is to make sure that the kids meet each academy’s requirements,” he said. “Then it’s up to each institution to select whom they believe is the best and most qualified candidate.”

*

Although he has the power to interview the candidates himself and make the nominations, Gallegly has appointed a board that includes two representatives of each military branch to conduct the interviews.

“I do not get involved until the academies inform me which candidates have been accepted,” Gallegly said.

An average of 50 local high school seniors fill out applications to attend a military academy every year, and about half of those actually get to the interview, said Carolyn Hall, who coordinates the program for Gallegly.

“Along the way some kids find out that they don’t meet the requirements, others discover that the military is not for them, and others are accepted into other educational institutions that fit their needs better,” Hall said.

Once they are accepted into an academy, the cadets will obtain a bachelor’s degree of their choice, graduate as lieutenants and be committed to serve in the military for five years after graduation, Hall said.

*

It is recommended that students apply in their junior or senior year in high school, Hall said. Gallegly’s office puts together an open house every fall where students can meet personnel and cadets from the academies.

For 17-year-old Brendan Purdy, a senior at Adolfo Camarillo High School, graduating from a military academy is the path to a life of achievements.

“I’m fascinated by the military,” Brendan said, adding that he has been reading military history during the past year. “Attending one of the academies would be an honor for me because of the quality of education they provide and what they represent.”

For Jason, the road to the academy begin his freshman year, when he met a senior who had been accepted into the Navy academy.

“Since then it has been a straight drive for me,” said Jason, adding that he is torn between the Air Force and Navy. “I really have to look closely and decide which ones will fit my needs.”

Applicants will be notified whether they have been accepted within two weeks, Hall said.