BATON ROUGE – On Saturday, in Baton Rouge, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) honored twenty-two Louisiana students who accepted appointments this year to the U.S. Military, Naval, and Air Force Academies.
“We celebrate these students’ commitment to our country, their willingness to defend our nation, and their parents’ investment in their lives,” said Dr. Cassidy. “We’re grateful for their future service.”
Of the twenty-two students, three are headed to the U.S. Military Academy, eleven to the U.S. Naval Academy, and eight to the U.S. Air Force Academy. They will depart for the Academies this month, where they will enter basic training programs before starting their fall semesters as cadets and midshipmen. Upon graduation, they will serve as commissioned officers in the U.S. military.
At the event, retired Air Force Brigadier General Paul Tibbets, IV gave a keynote address, where he drew upon stories from his service and that of his grandfather to inspire the students.
“I’m so proud of our young people today,” said General Tibbets. “One of my heroes, President Reagan, said many years ago that it’s up to each generation to step up and serve this country and defend this nation. Since we became a Republic, we’ve been doing that. But we rely on these young people of today and of tomorrow to make that leap. Today, we got to celebrate that with numerous Academy appointees that will now be our future leaders in the various services of our Armed Forces. I couldn’t be more proud to recognize them, to honor them, and to let them know that what they’re doing matters. This Republic, this United States of America, depends on them to continue to preserve our liberty and our freedoms for future generations.”
For high school students who are interested in attending the U.S. Military, Naval, Air Force or Merchant Marine Academies, they must receive a nomination, and most nominations come from Members of Congress. Students who will be high school seniors in the fall should visit Senator Cassidy’s nomination website, where they can fill out a preliminary nomination application. They will later be sent a full application. Additionally, any high school student can attend a Service Academy Day event to learn more about the Academies. They will all occur in September, and more information on those events can be acquired by emailing the Senator’s Service Academy Coordinator at shawn_hanscom@cassidy.senate.gov.
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