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.

United States service academies

There are five U.S. Service academies:

• United States Military Academy, also known as "West Point" and "Army", founded 1802.
• United States Naval Academy, also known as "Annapolis" and "Navy", founded 1845.
• United States Coast Guard Academy, also known as "Coast Guard", founded 1876.
• United States Merchant Marine Academy, also known as "Kings Point" and "Merchant Marine", founded 1942.
• United States Air Force Academy, also known as "Air Force", "USAFA" (pronounced phonetically), founded 1954.

Nature of the service academies

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 three academies (Army, Navy, and Air Force) that fall under the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard Academy (which is part of the Department of Homeland Security), since these are the only four Academies whose students are on Active Duty in the Armed Forces of the United States from the day they enter the Academy, subject to the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and eligible for all privileges and benefits of being members of an Armed Service.

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.

The Merchant Marine Academy is under the United States Maritime Administration, a part of the Department of Transportation, although every student at the Merchant Marine Academy is appointed as a Midshipman, Merchant Marine Reserve, U.S. Navy Reserve, and has a requirement to serve eight years in the military reserve, maintain a license as an officer in the merchant marine of the United States for at least six years, and serve the foreign and domestic commerce and national defense of the United States for at least five years.http://www.usmma.edu/admissions/facts/serviceobligation.htm

Duty commitments

Students at four Service academies (not including Merchant Marine Academy) incur a five year active duty commitment and if in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard have an additional three year reserve commitment. Kings Point graduates also have an eight year total obligation, but, although voluntarily entered by some, active duty is not required. The United States Marine Corps, a service under the Department of the Navy, does not have an academy of its own but instead commissions officers from Annapolis and Kings Point. If an Air Force cadet receives a pilot slot, they incur a 10 year commitment.

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, Congressmen, and the President and Vice President. Applicants to the Coast Guard Academy compete in a direct nation-wide competitive process that has no by-state quotas.

Nomenclature

Students at West Point, Air Force and Coast Guard are Cadets, while students at Annapolis and Kings Point are Midshipmen. While students at the academies, all Cadets and Midshipmen receive free room and board and pay no tuition. Students at all of the academies except Kings Point also receive a small pay stipend.

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

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.

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:

• United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School
  • Prepares students for the Air Force Academy (Air Force)
  • Also located on the campus of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• United States Military Academy Preparatory School
  • Prepares students for the United States Military Academy (Army/West Point)
  • Presently located at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey but this may change in the future because of the intended closure of Fort Monmouth
• Naval Academy Preparatory School
  • Prepares students for the United States Naval Academy (Navy/Annapolis), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point), and also the United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard).
  • Located at Newport, Rhode Island

See also

• List of defunct United States military academies
• Staff Colleges
  • US military staff colleges

• State-supported military academy:
  • Virginia Military Institute

• Privately-chartered military university:
  • Norwich University

• State-supported military universities which also have civilian student populations and programs:
  • North Georgia College and State University
  • Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
  • Texas A&M University - Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets
  • The Citadel

• State-supported maritime colleges and universities:
  • Students at these academies graduate with appropriate licenses from the U.S. Coast Guard and/or U.S. Merchant Marine, and may become commissioned reserve officers with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, or the U.S. Marine Corps
    • California Maritime Academy
    • Great Lakes Maritime Academy, a division of Northwestern Michigan College
    • State University of New York Maritime College
    • Maine Maritime Academy
    • Massachusetts Maritime Academy
    • Texas Maritime Academy, a division of Texas A&M University at Galveston

• State/Private Military junior colleges
  • Five institutions are considered military junior colleges. These five schools participate in the Army's two-year Early Commissioning Program, an Army ROTC program in which qualified students can earn a commission as a Second Lieutenant after only two years of college
    • Wentworth Military Academy and College, (Lexington, Missouri)
    • Valley Forge Military Academy and College, (Wayne, Pennsylvania)
    • New Mexico Military Institute, (Roswell, New Mexico)
    • Marion Military Institute, (Marion, Alabama)
    • Georgia Military College, (Milledgeville, Georgia)

• Reserve Officer Training Programs
  • ROTC
  • JROTC

References

• Diehl Chris, "The Military College Drill", Fastweb. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
• United States Department of Defense, DoD Directive 1322.22 "Service Academies" of 08/24/1994. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
• United States Military Academy
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Coast Guard Academy
• United States Merchant Marine Academy
• United States Air Force Academy