The Five-Pointed Star: U.S. Service Academies

The Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Coast Guard Academy at New London, and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. These are America's service academies, the five-pointed star. Each year, thousands of cadets and midshipmen enter our nation's service academies. They come from all walks of life and bring with them a variety of experiences. The common thread is to be challenged at the highest levels and serve our country in the most noble of professions. Cadets and midshipmen at America's service academies accept a lifestyle that is unique and demanding. Though they differ in terms of their history and missions, the military academies have more in common than most people think. The service academies all offer a rigorous four-year program. Their main focus is on developing leaders to serve our nation in peace and during conflict. Every cadet and midshipman receives a fully funded education, including tuition, room and board, and health care. And upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, they're commissioned as officers in the Uniformed Services. Each academy is rated as a top undergraduate college. All offer majors in engineering, math, science, and the humanities. When cadets and midshipmen graduate, they take with them lasting friendships. They forge lifetime bonds under the intense pressure and the high moral and ethical standards demanded by our service academies. They are prepared to rely on each other to get the job done. Our academies are not only focused on providing a first-class education, but on training and leading. Cadets and midshipmen are a part of a very special team, America's team. These are the young men and women we turn to in order to maintain our national defense. It's a big job, but these academy grads are very well prepared. We look for well-rounded candidates, individuals who demonstrate character, academic prowess, physical toughness, and the potential not only to excel at the academy, but also to excel as officers after graduation and likely make a career of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine. A healthy balance of these assets is considered by our admission boards. Cadets and midshipmen are taught by men and women who are top in their field. The ratio of students to teachers is among the lowest in the nation. The primary mission for instructors and professors is classroom teaching. Equipment is state-of-the-art. The unique challenges are unmatched. No other school offers the range of opportunities available at a service academy. In keeping with a famous quote by General Douglas MacArthur, that on the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory. All cadets and midshipmen are athletes, and every athlete is challenged. The academies share a belief that the competition and teamwork learned on the playing fields reinforce the team spirit needed to get the job done. At the service academies, there is both an officer and undergraduate chain of command. Cadets and midshipmen have a chance to develop and practice personal leadership skills. To be a leader, you must learn to follow. That's why upperclassmen have a great responsibility in training lowerclassmen. It's about becoming a leader who will inspire respect and obedience even under the most trying of circumstances. Our cadets and midshipmen are taught how to keep their heads when things get tough, to make the right decision the first time. They see what is required and make sure it is carried out, learning through their mistakes. The principal rule of conduct is based on honor. Cadets and midshipmen do not lie, cheat, or steal. Just as they learn to use the most advanced technology in the world, these young men and women also develop an inner confidence that keeps them pointed on the path of honor and integrity. In the process, cadets and midshipmen join a long and distinguished line of academy graduates. These graduates inspire on the strength of their vision and the courage of their team. Service academy graduates excel in every sphere of influence, from general and admiral to government leaders and captains of industry. Some say that much of the history taught at the academies was made by graduates who went before. Our country expects a great deal from our cadets and midshipmen to make them the best in their chosen field. Academy graduates prove worthy of this assessment by the way they perform their postgraduate service opportunities. It all comes down to this. For those who want to reach their potential, they have the help they need to find it. America's Service Academies, the Five-Pointed Star. In 1954, just seven years after the founding of the Air Force, President Dwight D. Eisenhower directed the establishment of the United States Air Force Academy. Located near Colorado Springs, Colorado, the academy nestles against the eastern slopes of the majestic Rocky Mountains with a campus covering 18,000 acres. Our proud heritage includes the accomplishments of military aviation pioneers like Billy Mitchell, Pat Arnold, and Benjamin O. Davis. Air Force Academy alumni include a Medal of Honor recipient, a congresswoman, and several astronauts. The mission of the United States Air Force Academy is to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation. To that effort, we strive to attract highly qualified, diverse candidates from varying backgrounds who will strengthen and enrich the cadet learning environment and prepare our graduates to lead a global expeditionary Air Force. The academy is guided by the Air Force's core values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do, and based on the four pillars of military training, academics, athletics, and character development. Air Force Academy cadets hone their leadership skills through a variety of airmanship, immersion, exchange, and summer training programs. Whether it's participating in the world's premier aviation program, with 90% of the soaring instructor pilots and free-fall parachute instructors being cadets, traveling across the globe for one of our many immersion or exchange programs, or shadowing an active-duty member at an operational Air Force base, cadets take these experiences well into their Air Force careers. Each cadet may choose from over 30 academic majors and several minors with courses in engineering, basic sciences, social sciences, and humanities. No matter which path they decide, USAFA cadets are prepared for a future in the Air Force. Since every cadet is an athlete, all will participate in either intercollegiate, intramural, or club competition at the highest levels. Nearly 24% of our cadets compete at the Division I level, and we are rated number one nationally for athletic opportunities for women. As a future officer, character development is a key part of an Air Force Academy's cadet experience. You exited that bus and took the first step that every member of the Long Blue Line has taken. Do not disappoint those that came before you. Standards are set much higher for you now. You've chosen to sacrifice your personal pride for your brothers and sisters in arms. The Academy is proud of having more than 200 hours of character development training courses covering human relations and leadership, along with many other emphasis areas. After four challenging yet rewarding years, Air Force Academy graduates earn a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as second lieutenants. The education and training of America's future leaders is paramount. Let the United States Air Force Academy be the path to joining the world's premiere air, space, and cyberspace force. The United States Military Academy at West Point. The name evokes feelings of pride and achievement. Located on 16,000 acres of quiet hills, woods, and fields in the beautiful Hudson River Valley, West Point has been training the Army's future leaders for more than 200 years. Although located in the tranquility of the Hudson Valley, New York City, the home of Wall Street, Broadway, and Lady Liberty is less than an hour's drive from West Point. Since the Military Academy's founding in 1802, West Point has defined leadership in academics, in physical fitness, in military training, and in selfless service to the nation. Consistently ranked among our nation's top colleges and world-renowned for its leadership development, West Point combines cutting-edge technology and educational innovation in state-of-the-art facilities at this historic site. Both past and present, the long gray line is full of warrior scholars dedicated to our nation and inspired to serve a cause higher than themselves. The core curriculum at West Point stresses the fundamentals of engineering and military leadership. West Point was our nation's first engineering school, and its engineering programs are still ranked among the best in the country. But cadets can choose from among more than 35 majors, including Computer Science, Information Technology, Foreign Languages, and Economics. Opportunities are also available for research and study both across the United States and around the world. In addition to semester abroad and military academy exchange programs, cadets might spend time in the summer on advanced individual academic development projects such as researching renewable energy in Uganda, studying rotorcraft aeroelasticity in Hampton, Virginia, researching virtual reality cognitive performance in Marina del Rey, California, or participating in language and cultural immersion in countries like France, China, Tajikistan, or Brazil. Fitness is a key component for every Army officer, so naturally the military academy places a high value on physical training. So whether it's competing in one of the 29 intercollegiate club sports, participating in intramurals, or representing the Army Black Knights on one of the Army's 25 NCAA teams, every cadet is an athlete. Even for those who come here prepared to face a challenge, the road to becoming an Army officer is a demanding one, and it should be, because upon graduation, all cadets receive Bachelor of Science degrees and commissions as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. To prepare cadets for the challenges they will face as Army officers, leaders in today's Army, and the world, the military academy hones cadets' abilities within a strong moral, ethical framework. They are taught how to think, not what to think, and when they emerge as Army officers, they will be soldier scholars, critical thinkers, and creative problem solvers, prepared for the extraordinary responsibility faced by leaders of character in service to our nation. For more than two centuries, the United States Military Academy at West Point has developed leaders of character, inspired to serve, providing an education rich in military excellence, steeped in tradition, and strengthened by moral, ethical principles. This is not just the Army's academy, it's America's academy, a place that embodies the time-honored values of our nation. This is the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on the banks of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay midshipmen earn a college degree and a commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy or a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Naval Academy emphasizes academics, physical training, leadership, and character to develop students from around the country to be leaders for our nation. Attending college in an environment of proud naval history and tradition, balanced with cutting-edge technology, makes the Naval Academy a truly unsurpassed experience. Our students choose from 24 majors in three concentrations, humanities and social sciences, math and sciences, and engineering and weapons. The Naval Academy is routinely ranked as one of the best engineering schools in the country, and all of our students earn a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation. Outside the classroom, every midshipman is an athlete competing in varsity, club, or intramural sports. The Naval Academy is the third-largest NCAA athletic program in the country, with over 30 Division I sports available. More than 120 extracurricular activities are available to accommodate a variety of personal interests, from musical ensembles and service organizations to academic and cultural clubs to adventure activities like skydiving, scuba diving, and mountain climbing. Midshipmen live in one of the largest single dormitories in the world, Bancroft Hall. Living and operating in units of about 150 students, known as companies, midshipmen develop a tight bond with their fellow shipmates that lasts a lifetime. Midshipmen dine in King Hall, which feeds family-style meals to the entire student body of over 4,000 students in one single setting. Directly outside the main gate of the Naval Academy lies the city of Annapolis, the bustling state capital of Maryland. This exciting and energetic sailing city is full of unique restaurants, musical venues, and shops for students to enjoy. From this exceptional educational environment in Annapolis, graduates of the Naval Academy go on to serve as surface warfare officers, submariners, pilots, special warfare operators, and Marines in exciting locations such as San Diego, Seattle, the Atlantic coast of Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, as well as Hawaii, Japan, Italy, and numerous exciting locations around the globe. No matter where in the world they end up, officers from the Naval Academy apply the lessons learned in the past to shape the future of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. If you want an excellent education followed by an exciting and rewarding career leading sailors and Marines, consider the United States Naval Academy, where we produce leaders to serve the nation.