• Every year, I have the opportunity to nominate young South Dakotans who are interested in attending one of our four U.S. Service Academies. Our nation's service academies provide young men and women the opportunity to further their education while serving our country. If you, or someone you may know, is interested in applying to the Military Academy at West Point, Naval Academy at Annapolis, Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, or the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, here is some additional information that may be of interest to you.
• The first step is to submit a pre-candidate application to the preferred academy. I would also encourage you to contact your high school counselor about your interest in attending a military academy so you can start preparing now by taking a challenging course load and supplementing your application with extracurricular and physical activities.
• In order to be considered for admission to a service academy, applicants must also receive a nomination from a member of Congress. You can download a nomination application from my website (http://noem.house.gov) and may also call my Sioux Falls office at 605-275-2868 for application details.
• In addition to completing the application, I request that applicants submit the fol

(Continued on page 13)