An appointment to the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, or U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is a distinct and rare honor. 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 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 Hawai‘i’s First Congressional District. If you are not certain that your legal domicile 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 very competitive. I urge you to apply for a nomination from me as well as our Senators from our state who can nominate qualified applicants to the four service academies. If you are interested in attending the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, and U.S. Air Force Academy, you may also qualify for nomination through other sources, including:
- 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;
- The Vice President, who nominates five individuals from across the United States per year; and
- The Secretary of the Army, Navy, or Air Force, who nominates members of regular military, reserve components, and participants in the ROTC.
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. If someone else nominates you, please notify me so that I may allow other candidates the opportunity for nomination.
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. These are also some of the criteria I use to determine nominations. Specific criteria in the “whole person” evaluation include character, scholarship, leadership, physical aptitude, medical fitness, and motivation.
Character: Critical in the course of evaluating a candidate is a positive determination of the candidate’s character. Absence of good moral character is cause for disqualification. Candidates are considered to have good moral character unless evidence exists to suggest otherwise.
Scholarship: Each element of a candidate’s academic record is carefully evaluated by a service academy’s admissions board. The elements evaluated include a complete high school record (and college record, when applicable), class standing, and either the SAT or ACT scores. All strengths and weaknesses in a candidate’s academic background are taken into account.
Motivation: Motivation is an intangible quality and difficult to evaluate; however, since it is most frequently the factor that determines an appointee’s success or failure at a service academy, I make every effort to gauge a candidate’s motivation. An attempt to measure motivation may be made through observation of the candidate’s interest level in attending an academy and serving as an officer in the armed services. Motivation may also be measured through an evaluation of correspondence, personal contacts, and care with which application materials are prepared.
Applicant Evaluation by Service Academies: Each academy uses a questionnaire to make an initial assessment of an applicant’s potential for appointment. The results of this evaluation are provided by each academy to Members of Congress to assist them in screening their applicants. Soon after the applicant returns the questionnaire, the admissions office will provide the applicant with an evaluation of the applicant’s demonstrated ability to meet admissions standards. An applicant who meets the standards is declared a candidate; those who do not meet the standards at that point may later submit additional test scores or information to the academy for re-evaluation. The applicant must provide the following information: academic standardized test scores (SAT, ACT), rank in class and grade point average, Social Security number, and participation in high school extracurricular activities. Be sure to complete a pre-candidate questionnaire for each academy in which you are interested. Service academy websites are:
Nomination Application Packet: To be considered for a nomination, you will need to submit the following to my office in order to complete your nomination file:
- Nomination application
- Current photo (5x7")
- Letter (two pages maximum) describing yourself and stating why you want to attend a service academy and serve in our armed services.
- Resume including contact information, background, work experience, extracurricular activities, leadership responsibilities, community service and interests.
- Official high school transcripts (9-12)
- All ACT and SAT results (not just the highest)
- Three letters of recommendation, with at least one from your teacher, dean or principal.
I ask that you submit the information as a single packet instead of as you compile it.
Contact Information: Address correspondence regarding your application for a nomination to:
Congressman Ed Case
Attn: Service Academy Nominations
1003 Bishop Street, Suite 1110
Honolulu, HI 96813
Deadline: Nominations for the class starting in 2025 have been completed. Nomination application packets for the class starting in 2026 must be postmarked by Friday, October 10, 2025.
