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Serving Citizen Warriors Through Advocacy and Education Since 1922
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Number 20, Published on web site only:
Service Academy Appointments for Children of Reserve Component Members
By CAPT Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USNR*
Q: I am a Major in the Army Reserve. I currently have 12 "good years" for reserve retirement purposes. My son is a sophomore in high school and is starting to think seriously about college. I have encouraged him to think about the service academies, and he seems interested. I understand that most persons admitted to the service academies get appointments from United States Senators and Representatives, but the children of "career" military personnel are eligible for Presidential appointments. How does this system work, and is my son eligible for a Presidential appointment?
A: The three service academies in the Department of Defense (DoD) are the United States Military Academy (USMA), the United States Naval Academy (USNA), and the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). The United States Coast Guard Academy, in the Department of Transportation, has a very different admissions system.
Separate but virtually identical sections of Title 10 of the United States Code (10 U.S.C.) apply to each service academy. Section 4342 applies to the USMA, section 6954 to the USNA, and section 9342 to the USAFA.
Each year, the President is authorized to make 100 special appointments to each of the three DoD service academies. See 10 U.S.C. 4342(b) (USMA), 6954(b) (USNA), and 9342(b) (USAFA). Only certain Armed Forces personnel are eligible to have their children appointed under these provisions.
Until quite recently amended by the Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), it was necessary that the parent be on active duty (other than for training) and have been on active duty continuously for at least eight years. See 10 U.S.C. 4342(b)(1)(A) (USMA), 6954(b)(1)(A) (USNA), and 9342(b)(1)(A).
Section 531 of the FY 2001 NDAA expands the Presidential appointment authority to include children of parents who "are serving as members of reserve components and are credited with at least eight years of service computed under section 12733 of this title." See 10 U.S.C. 4342(b)(1)(C) (USMA), 6954(b)(1)(C) (USNA), and 9342(b)(1)(C) (USAFA). (All of these subsections are as amended by the FY 2001 NDAA.) A member of a reserve component is credited with a "year of service" for this purpose if the member accumulates at least 50 points in the year. See 10 U.S.C. 12733(a)(2).
Since you already have 12 "good years" for retirement purposes, your son will be eligible for a Presidential appointment to a service academy, provided you are still a member of a reserve component at the time he graduates from high school and applies for such an appointment. This gives you another reason to remain in the Army Reserve, at least until your son graduates high school.
Q: Since I am in the Army Reserve, is my son limited to a Presidential appointment for the USMA?
A: No. Your son will be eligible for a Presidential appointment to any one of the three DoD service academies.
Q: What about the children of military retirees? Are they eligible for Presidential appointments to service academies? Are reserve retirees treated differently from regular retirees for this purpose?
A: Children of regular military retirees have always been eligible for Presidential appointments. Until quite recently, children of reserve retirees were excluded from such consideration. Section 531 of the FY 2001 NDAA repeals this unfair exclusion of reserve retirees. Under the revised law, children of regular and reserve retirees are equally eligible for Presidential appointments to the service academies. This includes "gray area" retirees. (A "gray area" retiree is a person who has met all the qualifications for a reserve retirement except having attained his or her 60th birthday.)
Q: My older brother retired from the Naval Reserve as a Captain, when he was 50. He died five years later, without ever reaching his 60th birthday or drawing any of his Naval Reserve retirement. His daughter is now a senior in high school. Is she eligible for a Presidential appointment to a service academy?
A: Yes. The FY 2001 NDAA added three new subparagraphs to the relevant Title 10 sections. See 10 U.S.C. 4342(b)(1)(D) (USMA), 6954(b)(1)(D) (USNA), and 9342(b)(1)(D), all as very recently added. The child of a parent who was a gray area retiree at the time of his or her death is now eligible for a Presidential appointment.
*Note: Captain Wright’s military title is used for purposes of identification only. The views expressed in this article should not be attributed to the Department of the Navy or the U.S. Government generally. You may write to him at ROA, or you may send him an e-mail at swright@roa.org.
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