A nomination is required to attend the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, or U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. It is my distinct honor to nominate candidates from Ohio’s 7th Congressional District. After nomination, the service academies select those who are offered appointments. Acceptance of an academy appointment requires at least a nine-year service obligation, including four years at an academy and five years of active-duty service.
Eligibility: To be eligible for a nomination and subsequent appointment, you must be an American citizen, at least 17 years old and not yet 23 years old on July 1st of the year you enter an academy (25 years old for United States Merchant Marine Academy). Furthermore, you must not be married or pregnant, and you must not have any legal obligation to support children or other dependents. To apply for a nomination through my office, you must also be a legal resident of Ohio’s Seventh Congressional District. If you are not certain that your legal residence is in my district, please visit www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative or call my office for an address verification.
Nomination: The nomination process is extremely competitive. I urge you to apply for a nomination from all available nominating sources. The process is nonpartisan, and candidates should apply to every possible source who can nominate qualified applicants to the four service academies. These sources include:
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The President, who nominates children of career military personnel, deceased or disabled veterans, military or civilian personnel in missing status, and Medal of Honor recipients.
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The Vice President, who nominates from across the United Sates each year; and
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The Secretary of the Army, Navy, or Air Force, who nominates members of regular military, reserve components, and participants in the ROTC.
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United States Senators who may nominate candidates in their home states.
Please note that the United States Merchant Marine Academy only accepts congressional nominations.
Further information regarding application procedures for these nominations is available through each academy’s website, listed later. Applying for more than one nomination could increase your chances of securing a nomination. More than one nomination, however, is not required to gain an appointment. Furthermore, a nomination does not guarantee you an appointment to the service academies. Our office does speak with the two senate offices concerning nominations. This is to optimize the number of nominations available to Ohio’s candidates.
Evaluation Criteria: The academies consider evidence of character, scholarship, leadership, physical aptitude, medical fitness, personal goals, and motivation in performing each nominee’s “whole person” evaluation. Along with service to the community, these are the criteria my board utilizes to determine nominations. Specific criteria in the “whole person” evaluation include character, scholarship, leadership, physical aptitude, medical fitness, and motivation.
Be sure to complete a pre-candidate questionnaire for each academy in which you are interested. This will open your candidate file with the service academy. Service academy websites are:
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Military Academy: http://www.usma.edu
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Naval Academy: http://www.usna.edu
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Air Force Academy: http://www.usafa.edu
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Merchant Marine Academy: http://www.usmma.edu