Rep. Ryan to hold fall service academy information session Sept. 20

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY18) is holding a fall service academy information session from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, on the SUNY Orange campus, located at 1 Washington Center in Newburgh, the congressman’s office announced.

Open to the public, the event is for students, parents, and educators interested in learning about the service academy nomination process, meeting nomination board interviewers or discovering other ways to serve.

Applicants to the U.S. Air Force, merchant marine, military, and naval academies must first receive a nomination from a member of either the U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives or can receive service-connected nominations if they are currently enlisted in the U.S. military. Nominations from the president and vice president are also accepted. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a nomination. Nominated applicants then must apply to and receive an appointment from the respective service academy.

Service academies provide appointees with a four-year, tuition-free undergraduate education. Graduates are then commissioned as officers in their respective military branch and serve for a minimum five-year commitment.

Each applicant must meet the following eligibility requirements as of July 1 of the year of admission to an academy:

• Be at least 17 years old, but not have passed the 23rd birthday

• Be a U.S. citizen

• Be unmarried, not pregnant, and without legal obligation to support children or other dependents

• Must reside within the boundaries of NY’s 18th Congressional District

• Must meet the medical, physical, and academic requirements of the academy

The application period closes Nov. 1. For more information, call 845-443-2930, email destiny.hallenbeck@mail.house.gov or visit patryan.house.gov/services/military-academy-nominations.