Air Force Academy Appointments

The Air Force Academy inducts 1,300 cadets each year, and the competition to become an Air Force Academy cadet is fierce. Cadets are selected for strong academics, athletics, character, and demonstrated leadership ability.

However, it takes more than a 4.0 GPA to get into the Academy. Cadets must also meet certain minimum physical requirements, such as an 8 minute timed run on the mile, the ability to cover 50 miles with a heavy backpack, and several other stringent requirements. However, this article isn’t about those requirements. It’s about the some of the more challenging ones to meet.

No Air Force Cadet ever gets into the Academy without a good letter of referral; these letters of referral should come from people prominent in your community, such as your pastor, your high school teachers, employers you’ve worked for and the leaders of any volunteer organizations you’ve belonged to.

They should focus on your strength of character, your work ethic, and your ability and willingness to go to extreme efforts to help others, and to accomplish difficult tasks.

You will also need an appointment letter. Every US Congressman and US Senator is allowed to make five appointments per year, as are the US President and Vice President. Additional nomination slots are available for the children of career military personnel, the children of veterans killed or disabled in the line of duty, and the children of Congressional Medal of Honor winners. The admission process is difficult and lengthy. Most students considering an Academy appointment should start making preparations for it during their junior year of high school.

What stops most candidates who get through the initial academic screening is weak letters of recommendation.

It’s worth your time to try and contact other Academy inductees to see what they went through to get into the Academy. If you’re weak on the academics, there are programs that you can take that will instill strong study habits in you, including rigorous time management techniques and more.

Even if you have good academic scores, you’ll want to improve your study techniques. All of the service academies demand not just a rigorous course in engineering, but that every student participate in at least one sporting endeavor, while also working through leadership and character-building exercises. Solid study skills are an essential component to not flunking out of the Academy.

However, the swing vote on getting an Appointment to the Academy is almost always the letters of recommendation and the personal essay by the candidates. Academic grades, and standardized test scores tell how well a student is at taking tests and following instructions, but it’s the essays and the letters of recommendation that show the leadership and character that the Academy is looking for. Candidates with excellent letters of referral and weak academics have a better chance of getting in than candidates with strong academics and average referral letters.

Maritime and Merchant Marine Academy of United States

Article by Louis Philip

The word Maritime is used to tell about anything related to sea. The Maritime Provinces is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three regions, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. The United States has beliefs on its maritime industry for both armed forces and fiscal protection. The term Merchant Marine is used to refer to the fleet of civilian-owned trade vessels of the U.S. Either the government or the private sector operates them. They keep the business and transportation of commodities in and out of the traversable waters of the United States. For more than 200 years, the Merchant Marine having the flag of the U.S. has contributed considerably to the economic strength and autonomy of the country. Thereby the Merchant Marine help to keep America in no.1 position in power and also the major aid contributor of the world. Merchant Marine is called the fourth wing of security. It makes sure that the US will get the sealift to transport its military, common people and marketable objectives out of the country in times of need. It also gives assurance of the accessibility of U.S. controlled maritime possessions so that the business can be organized during war and nationwide emergencies. The ships have been responsible for the supply of our troops abroad in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and in other places. They also help to keep the U.S. food aid safe from the pirates attack and carry them to the hungry people in East Africa through the seas. They successfully lend their hands to the relief efforts after the Hurricane Katrina and the massive earthquakes in Haiti and Japan. The USMMA or the United States Merchant Marine Academy is one of the five service academies in the US. It is also popularly known as Kings Point. It provides many training officers for the Merchant Marine, a part of the military and also to the shipping industry. The students of the USMMA are called Midshipmen. They are educated in marine engineering, ship’s management, personnel administration, intercontinental laws and the customs. They are taught how to read a map to find out the right direction. They also learn about the laws of the seas and many additional matters vital for the running of a large vessel. To get admission in the USMMA is one of the greatest achievements of a life span. For half a century young folks have come here to attain the information, knowledge, obedience and skills that are needed for a tough leadership. Graduates of the USMMA serve their country by joining the marine industry and the defense services. A well-built business marine generates lots of American jobs and billions of dollars as the financial output at home. According to USA national interest, the government is still taking action, collecting funds and defends programs that support the sustainability of this essential service. In one word, the U.S. marine industry assists in achieving the safety measures and political objectives of the administration of the United States. Some pass outs of the academy also become great leaders.