The Nomination Process
In order to be considered for an appointment to a service academy, an applicant must meet the eligibility requirements established by law and be nominated from an authorized person, including a Member of the United States Senate or the House of Representatives. I may nominate applicants who are legally domiciled within the boundaries of the Sixth District of Arizona.
Who Is Eligible?
An applicant for a nomination must meet the following eligibility requirements as of July 1 of the year of admission to a service academy. He or she must be at least 17 years old, but not have passed the 23rd birthday, must be a United States citizen, and must be unmarried, not pregnant, and have no legal obligation to support children or other dependents.
Applying Through My Office For A Nomination
Students interested in a nomination should send a written request to my district office in the spring of their junior year in high school. Also, please note that it is extremely important that the student begin a pre-candidate questionnaire with the academies themselves.
United States Naval Academy
United States Military Academy
United States Air Force Academy
United States Merchant Marine Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy
Service Academies
There are five Service Academies: The United States Air Force (USAFA), Naval (USNA), Military (USMA), Merchant Marine (USMMA), and Coast Guard (USCGA) Academies. Nominations are required for all but the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, to which appointments are made on the basis of an annual nationwide competition.
For the USAFA, USNA, and USMA, there are various nomination authorities, with each eligible young person being able to apply to both United States Senators from the applicant's state, his or her United States Representative, and the Vice President (if very highly qualified). The other nomination categories are military-affiliated. With regard to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the locality boundary for nomination by a Representative is the state in which the district lies rather than just the district itself. Each Representative and each Senator may nominate ten candidates each year to compete for admission.
Nominations
With respect to the congressional category, each Representative and each Senator is allowed to have at each of those academies at any one time five persons charged to his or her quota. There are three methods of nominations. I have instructed my Service Academy Board to use the Principal with Competing Alternates. For each vacancy, ten nominations may be made on a strictly competitive basis. The Principal with Competing Alternates method provides that one highly competitive candidate be chosen as the Principal. If you are chosen as a Principal nominee, this guarantees appointment into the service academy unless you are disqualified by the admissions office any reason. The nine competing alternates compete among themselves for appointment determined by the admissions authorities. They take into consideration a nominee's academic record, extracurricular and athletic activities, physical aptitude, ACT and/or SAT scores, leadership ability, and medical qualifications. Such facets of an applicant's record are also considered during the nomination selection process. No person will be offered admission if he or she does not meet the physical standards of the Academy, unless awarded a medical waiver.
As competition for nomination and appointment is very intense, it is wise for all interested persons to apply through all sources for which they are eligible and for all Academies in which they have a real interest. An individual may be nominated by more than one nominating authority and/or to more than one Academy. Once your file is complete, you will be notified of your interview appointment and time. These interviews will be held on a Saturday in the month of November. My Service Academy Board consists of nine men and women who are academy graduates and/or active duty and retired military personnel. There are three members assigned to each academy, with the exception of Merchant Marines; these candidates will interview with the naval board. During this interview, you will spend fifteen minutes with each academy you wish to receive a nomination from. Principal nominations will be decided on the same day as interviews.
Contact
E-mail Flake.Academy@mail.house.gov or call 480-833-0092 for questions regarding this process.
