U.S. Representative for the 7th District, Mark Green, has announced that he will host his first Military Service Academy Day.
The event, which is open to the public, will be held on Saturday, November 16 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Franklin High School on Hillsboro Road in Franklin.
Academy Day provides interested students in middle school and high school, as well as parents, the opportunity to learn more about our nation’s military service academies as well as the nomination process, according to the announcement.
The five U.S. service academies are the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
The service academies provide college-age U.S. citizens with a tuition-free, four-year undergraduate education and prepare them to be officers in the U.S. uniformed services. Upon graduation, service academy graduates are commissioned as officers in the active or reserve components of the military or merchant marine for a minimum of five years, according to Congressional Research Service.
In addition to meeting eligibility criteria, applicants to the military service academies must also obtain a nomination from an official source. Members of Congress are authorized by law to nominate candidates for appointment to all but the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, which does not require a congressional nomination for appointment.
Nominations by members of Congress are limited to a specific number within each service academy, can be quite competitive depending upon the district, and – while a requirement of the appointment process – does not guarantee an applicant’s admission to a service academy.
Alluding to his own nomination process from his childhood home, Representative Green said, “I can remember when I approached my congressman in Mississippi many years ago for a Service Academy nomination.”
Representative Green went on to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which he said “was an unparalleled honor and led me to a lifetime of serving our country.”
His military service was a combined 24 years between the Academy, active duty Army and Army Reserves.
Representative Green, who had been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, was awarded the Bronze Star and many others.
Representative Green detailed his most memorable mission – capturing and interrogating Saddam Hussein for six hours – in a book he authored, A Night With Saddam.
In carrying forward his service academy application and nomination experience, Representative Green said of his first Military Service Academy Day on November 16 in Franklin, “I’m looking forward to speaking to and meeting students from across Tennessee’s 7th District who are interested in following that same path.”
Representatives from all five U.S. service academies have been invited to attend, along with those from the Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps).
Congressman Green’s Service Academy Day will focus on students interested in starting the nomination process in 2020. A second event will be scheduled in Clarksville in February 2020.
For more information and to confirm attendance at Representative Mark Green’s Service Academy Day, visit the web page here.
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Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star.
