United States Service academies

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The United States Service academies, also known as the United States Military Academies, are federal academies for the undergraduate education and training of commissioned officers for the United States armed forces.

There are five U.S. Service academies:

Contents

[edit] Nature

Service academies can be used to refer to all of the academies collectively. In popular use, however, this term is more often used for the academies of the four branches of the military: those of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (under the Department of Defense); and that of the Coast Guard (under the Department of Homeland Security) and the Merchant Marine Academy under the Department of Transportation. These are the only five Academies whose students are on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States from the day they enter the Academy, with the rank of officer cadet or midshipman, and subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In the case of the Merchant Marine Academy, midshipmen are commissioned into the Navy Reserve and the Strategic Sealift Navy Officer Program.

In the context of college football, the term "service academies" most often refers specifically to the grouping of Army, Navy, and Air Force, the three academies whose football teams compete in the top-level NCAA Division I FBS. The three schools compete annually for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.

The United States Coast Guard, and therefore the Coast Guard Academy, is a United States military service under the Department of Homeland Security but in time of war it can be placed as a service in the Department of the Navy.

At times, or in certain discussion groups, the Academies can be collectively referred to as "The Four Pointed Star."

[edit] Congressional nominations

Applicants to all Service academies, except the United States Coast Guard Academy, are required to obtain a nomination to the school. Nominations may be made by Senators, Representatives, the President, and the Vice President. Applicants to the Coast Guard Academy compete in a direct nationwide competitive process that has no by-state quotas.

[edit] Admissions

The admissions process to the US Service Academies is an extensive and very competitive process. The US Military Academy at West Point, the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, the US Merchant Marine Academy and the US Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs all require an applicant to submit an on-line file and proceed through pre-candidate qualification before an application is provided. All these schools have an extremely competitive application process and are ranked annually by US News and World Report and Forbes.com as one of the most selective colleges and universities in America. The average acceptance rate is between 11-15% for each of the schools.

[edit] Nomenclature

Students at the United States Military Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Coast Guard Academy are cadets. Students at the United States Naval Academy and the United States Merchant Marine Academy are midshipmen. All cadets and midshipmen receive taxable pay at a rate of 35% of O1 under 2 years of service (which can be used to pay for textbooks and uniforms), free room and board, and pay no tuition or fees, with the exception of USMMA who receive pay only during their required 300+ days at sea during their 4 year studies.

[edit] Duty commitments

Upon graduation the former students become second lieutenants or ensigns and must serve a minimum term of duty, typically five years plus another three years in the Reserves. If the student's chosen occupation requires particularly extensive training (such as naval aviator), the term of duty may be longer.

[edit] United States Senior Military Colleges (SMCs)

[edit] Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and other DOD Graduate Institutions

The United States federal government also runs the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a post-graduate institution for the training of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals for the military and uniformed services. Additionally each of the services also operate a number of other graduate schools, granting Master's and in some cases Doctoral degrees. These schools include the National Defense University, the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Naval War College, the Naval Postgraduate School, Air University and Marine Corps University. Every commissioned officer in the United States armed forces is expected to have a post-graduate degree and Joint Professional Military Education prior to promotion to Lieutenant Colonel or Commander. One more institution that does not fit neatly is the National Defense Intelligence College which is run by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for the benefit of the United States intelligence community. It grants both Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

The DoD also runs three schools for the training of lawyers within the military services (i.e., Judge Advocates General). The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School serves the Army; the Naval Justice School collectively serves the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard; and the Air Force Judge Advocate General School serves the Air Force. Of these, only the Army school actually awards a degree. It operates a special graduate course of study, for lawyers in all of the services, known as the Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course. This program is accredited by the American Bar Association to grant the Master of Laws to its graduates.

[edit] Preparatory Schools

These schools provide for strengthening of academic potential of candidates to each of the above-described United States service academies. Admission is restricted to those students who have applied to an academy, failed initially to qualify, either academically or physically, but who have demonstrated an ability to qualify during the initial admission selection process:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

United States military academies and military colleges
Federal service academies
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