Press Releases

(Honolulu, HI) -  Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) today announced his 2020 nominations to three of the United States military’s service academies: the U.S. Military Academy (West Point/Army); U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis/Navy); and U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs/Air Force).

“I take my responsibility to nominate deserving applicants from my district to our legendary service academies very seriously, and personally interviewed all 31 potential nominees before making my decisions on nominations,” said Case. “I was truly impressed with the applicants, and it was very encouraging and rewarding to have spent time with our next generation of military leaders.”

Case named the following three principal nominees:

• Andrew Adiniwin, a senior at Moanalua High School, to the United States Military Academy;
• Samantha Nakagawa, a senior at Kamehameha Schools/Kapālama, to the United States Naval Academy; and
• Ryan Kong, a senior at Punahou School, to the U.S. Air Force Academy*.

Case also named these nominations to the following academies:

United States Military Academy at West Point

• Jorden Corpuz, senior, ‘Iolani School
• Vincent Terrell, senior, Punahou School
• Elena San Jose, senior, University of Hawaii*
• Kenrick Brown, senior, Taipei American School
• Joseph Kim, senior, Moanalua High School
• Zander Manuel, senior, Punahou School*
• Jordan Savage, senior, Punahou School*
• Ethan Dean, senior, Radford High School*
• Ryan Kong, senior, Punahou School*

United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs

• Ethan Dean, senior, Radford High School*
• Scott Lyons, senior, St. Louis School
• Kate Helbush, senior, Moanalua High School
• Noah Nappi, senior, Mililani High School
• Brett Castro, senior, Punahou School
• Kaylee Jones, senior, Mililani High School
• Joshua Galeria, senior, Moanalua High School
• Ben Scully, senior, Hanalani Schools
• Josiah Matsuda, senior, ‘Iolani School

United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland

• Sky Lactaoen, senior, Campbell High School
• Kellen Tanaka, senior, Mid-Pacific Institute
• Cara Cunningham, senior, Punahou School
• Jordan Savage, senior, Punahou School*
• Chad Domingo, senior, Campbell High School
• Zander Manuel, senior, Punahou School*
• Elena San Jose, senior, University of Hawai‘i*
• Curtis Meares, senior, Kalani High School
• Harrison Deisroth, sophomore, University of Hawaii

Members of Congress are authorized by law to nominate candidates to the four United States Service Academies – the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; the Military Academy at West Point, New York; and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.  None of the applicants sought nomination to the Merchant Marine Academy. The Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut does not require a congressional nomination for appointment.

Acceptance of an academy appointment requires at least a nine-year service obligation, including four years at an academy and at least five years of active duty service. For information on eligibility requirements and how to seek an appointment for the 2021 entering class, please go to Congressman Ed Case’s web site at https://case.house.gov/services/military-academy-nominations.

 *Applicants noted by an asterisk applied for and were nominated to more than one service academy.