The United States Military Academies, properly known as the United States Service academies, are federal academies for the undergraduate education and training of commissioned officers for the United States armed forces. There are five U.S. Service academies:

• United States Military Academy, also known as "West Point" and "Army", founded 1802
• United States Naval Academy, also known as "Annapolis" and "Navy", founded 1845
• United States Coast Guard Academy, founded 1876
• United States Merchant Marine Academy, also known as "Kings Point", founded 1942
• United States Air Force Academy, also known as "Air Force" (and infrequently as "Colorado Springs", and frequently as "The Academy"), founded 1954

The term Service academies can be used to refer to all of the academies collectively; however, in popular use, it is more often reserved for the three academies that fall under the Department of Defense, and also play NCAA Division I-A football: Army, Navy, and Air Force. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is under the Department of Homeland Security but the Coast Guard is an armed service which may be placed under the control of the U.S. Navy in time of war. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is under the U.S. Maritime Administration, a part of the Department of Transportation, although every student at the Merchant Marine Academy is appointed as a Midshipman, Merchant Marine Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve, and has an eight-year military service reserve commitment upon graduation ^*. Students at the other Service academies incur a five year active duty commitment and if in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps have an additional three year reserve commitment. The U.S. Marine Corps does not have an academy of their own but instead commissions officers from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Students at the Military Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy are Cadets, while students at the Naval Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy are Midshipmen. While students at the academies, all Cadets and Midshipmen receive military pay, free room and board, and pay no tuition.

Preparatory Schools

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These schools provide for strengthening of academic potential of candidates to each of the above-described United States military service academies. Admission is restricted to those students who have applied to an academy, failed initially to qualify either academically or physically but who have demonstrated an ability to qualify during the initial admission selection process:

• United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School
  • Prepares students for the Air Force Academy (Air Force)
  • Also located on the campus of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Military Academy Preparatory School
  • Prepares students for the United States Military Academy (Army/West Point)
  • Presently located at Fort Monmouth near the City of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey but this may change in the future due to the intended closure of Fort Monmouth
• Naval Academy Preparatory School
  • Prepares students for the United States Naval Academy (Navy/Annapolis), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point), and also the United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard).
  • Located at Newport, Rhode Island

See also

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• List of defunct United States military academies
• Staff Colleges
  • US military staff colleges
• State-supported military universities:
  • The Citadel
  • North Georgia College and State University
  • Virginia Military Institute
• Privately-chartered military universities:
  • Norwich University
• Major civilian universities with an established military cadet corps:
  • Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
  • Texas A&M University - Texas A&M Corps of Cadets
• State-supported maritime colleges and universities:
  • Students at these academies graduate with appropriate licenses from the U.S. Coast Guard and/or U.S. Merchant Marine, and may become commissioned reserve officers with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, or the U.S. Marine Corps
    • California Maritime Academy
    • Great Lakes Maritime Academy, a division of Northwestern Michigan College
    • State University of New York Maritime College
    • Maine Maritime Academy
    • Massachusetts Maritime Academy
    • Texas Maritime Academy, a division of Texas A&M University at Galveston
• Reserve Officer Training Programs
  • ROTC
  • JROTC

References

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• Diehl Chris, "The Military College Drill", Fastweb. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
• United States Department of Defense, DoD Directive 1322.22 "Service Academies" of 08/24/1994. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
• United States Military Academy
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Coast Guard Academy
• United States Merchant Marine Academy
• United States Air Force Academy

Education in the United States | United States military academies