French Hill: A great honor

By: Rep. French Hill

It was my honor earlier this month to celebrate the young Arkansans who join the class of 2025 at United States service academies. Each year, I host my Service Academy Send Off for the friends and families of these exceptional students and citizens, and this year, I celebrated four cadets and midshipmen and congratulated recent West Point graduate 2nd Lt. Adam Hoxeng, whom I nominated four years ago.

As a member of Congress, I have the important responsibility to nominate students across central Arkansas to the U.S. service academies. I’ve had the privilege of nominating over 150 students who have applied to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. In a state of three million people, I am proud that we have so many students representing Arkansas at our nation’s service academies. This is a testament to the impressive students graduating from central Arkansas high schools.

When nominating students to academies I look at the whole person, their character, drive to service, athletics, academics and leadership. The honor of attending a service academy comes with the obligation and commitment to serve in the military for a minimum of five years upon graduation, and this commitment can’t be taken lightly. To serve our country, candidates must be physically and mentally fit with a heart for our nation and service.

To be eligible you must be a United States citizen, between the ages of 17-23, not married or pregnant and not have any dependents. When appointed, students receive a four-year full scholarship to one of the academies and they must commit to five years of service after graduation. The process is extremely competitive with a less than 10 percent acceptance rate to each academy.

Applicants must apply for a nomination by Nov. 1 of their senior year and must also apply to the academies by Jan. 31. I have a panel of academy alumni that assist me in selecting nominees to represent central Arkansas. I also work with Sen. John Boozman and Sen. Tom Cotton to ensure that we can nominate as many Arkansans as possible.

I invite interested students as well as school counselors or other staff to contact my office. I regularly hold information sessions on how to advise students interested in service and how to guide gifted students toward the academies. We also hold information sessions for all students, regardless of age, on the process, how to be a competitive candidate and how to apply for a nomination.

This responsibility truly is one of my greatest honors as your representative, and I applaud the young men and women who answer the call of duty to serve our country. Thank you for serving our nation to ensure all central Arkansans and Americans may enjoy the freedoms afforded to us in this country.

If you have any questions regarding the nomination process call the Little Rock office at (501) 324-5941.