Interested in attending a Service Academy? Join me at Service Academy Night!

Dear Friends,

As a member of Congress, every year I am tasked with nominating the best and brightest young men and women from Delaware to be considered for admission to our nation’s five service academies. Earlier this week it gave me great pleasure to announce the names of my service academy nominees for the Class of 2020.

As a former Naval Flight Officer and retired U.S. Navy Captain – serving five years in a hot war in Southeast A

sia and for another 18 years as a P-3 aircraft mission commander – my responsibility to nominate young Delawareans is one that I care deeply about. Our nation’s armed forces are the finest in the world, and I take this task very seriously while knowing that the individuals who graduate from our service academies today will be the leaders of our military tomorrow.

Being accepted into any one of our nation’s service academies – the U.S. Airforce Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy – is a tremendous honor. Each academy provides the unique opportunity to obtain an excellent education, serve your country, and gain valuable leadership skills that will guide you in your future. Although I didn’t have the honor of attending a service academy, I learned the value of combining education with military service while I was in the ROTC program at The Ohio State University.

Our nation’s service academies seek future leaders who possess good moral character, a commendable academic record, medical and physical fitness, the desire to serve, and the motivation to lead. The nominees for the Class of 2020 possess all of these attributes and more. I wish them all luck as they move forward in the application process.

Later this month, I will host my 15^th annual U.S. Service Academy Night, where those interested in applying to be the Class of 2021 can learn more about the process. Last year, more than 200 Delaware middle and high school students, along with their families, teachers and school counselors, came to the event to learn more about each of our nation’s five service academies, and what it takes to apply.

I urge young Delawareans who may be interested in applying to the service academies to join us on February 17 from 6-8 pm at Delaware Technical Community College in Dover. You can find full details for this year’s U.S. Service Academy Night here.

I hope that you or someone you know can join us on February 17. As always, I look forward to hearing from you on this issue, or any other through email, or by contacting me on Twitter @SenatorCarper and on Facebook at facebook.com/tomcarper.