Reps. Wittman, Scott Host Families at Service Academy Day at NWS Yorktown

YORKTOWN, Va. (NNS) -- Rep. Rob Wittman and Rep. Bobby Scott, both of Virginia, hosted more than 200 high school and middle school students, their parents and school guidance counselors at Service Academy Day, May 11, aboard Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Yorktown.

The briefing and panel discussion provided a comprehensive overview of the United States service academies, their admission process as well as how to get a nomination from your local congressional representative.

"Today is about giving you some insight in the academy selection process," Rep. Wittman told the audience. "These are extraordinary, world class institutions. If you got to any publication that rates academic institutions of higher learning, you will find these five schools are always ranked in the top ten."

The schools represented include the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md.; U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Co.; U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Conn.; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y.
The advice Wittman and all the service academy representatives gave to the students and their families was simple; be well-rounded in everything.

"You have to think of it as a 'whole person concept' when applying. It's academics, standardized test scores, athletics, extra-curricular activities and participation in the community; there's not one element that stands alone," Rep. Wittman explained. "You need to have a broad experience, doing as much as you can and excelling at all the different aspects of your life. If you do that, you will be tremendously competitive."

Wittman represents the First District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Armed Services Committee where he is the Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee. Additionally, he is on the Board of Visitors for the U.S. Naval Academy. A majority of people applying for an academy nomination comes from military families and knows what it takes to be successful in the military; leadership.

"Our job is to train future leaders of this country, period," said David Harriss from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. "The academics are rigorous, but when you graduate, you get a skill that's immediately marketable."

"All the academies represented here are about leadership training," said Col. Robert "Tex" Turner, U.S. Army (Ret.), speaking for the U.S. Military Academy. "We train to lead; to lead our Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to face the enemy."

The selection process starts with individual congressional district's convening a Service Academy Board, consisting of former academy graduates who help review applications of students wanting a nomination from their representative. Each congressional district gets 10 nominations for each academy. On an average, more than 150 applications are submitted annually to Wittman's office for a nomination letter.

"Once those 10 nominations are put in place, the service academies select from those nominations," Rep. Wittman continued. "On an average every year, about 1-3 students from those 10 nominations are selected for admission to the service academies. It is a very competitive process."

After a panel discussion and "Question and Answer" session with the attendees, the service academy representatives as well as representatives from the congressional staffs spoke "one-on-one" with students and parents to help them through what will be a long application process. But for them, the reward is worth the wait.

"At this point in your academic career, you have the ability to choose your own path about the courses that you take, the activities that you're involved with and your athletic pursuits. All those are things you can do now to prepare yourself to be competitive for this process," Rep. Wittman concluded.

For more news from Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, visit www.navy.mil/local/nwsyorktown/.