<p align="JUSTIFY">U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) this week announced that representatives of the U.S. Service Academies, at his request, will be in Huntington and Beckley on Saturday, Oct. 5, to provide information to students and parents on the application and admissions process for service academy candidates.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY">"It is a great honor for our young people to attend and represent our State at one of the U.S. Service Academies, and I want to be sure they have every opportunity to do so, which is why I asked academy representatives to come to southern West Virginia and talk with our young people and their families," said Rahall. "It is never too early to think about college. As the proving ground for future generations of America’s young leaders, our military service academies provide a first class education."</p> <p align="JUSTIFY">Rahall’s Academy Day will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Huntington High School, Huntington, from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.; and, at Woodrow Wilson High School, Beckley, from 2 - 4 p.m.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY">U.S. Academies for the Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines provide American students with a tuition-free, four-year undergraduate education and prepare them to be officers of five of the seven U.S. uniformed services. Upon graduation, service academy graduates are commissioned as officers in the active or reserve components of the military or the merchant marine for a minimum of five years.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY">"Getting into a U.S. Service Academy is difficult but it offers an unparalleled opportunity for candidates to develop their academic and leadership skills so that they can become future leaders in the U.S. armed forces and any other career field they choose. I want to help our Congressional District’s candidates in any way that I can to compete for the academic opportunity of a lifetime, and I hope they will take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions and get an edge on the competition," said Rahall.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY">The application period for the Academies is now open for candidates who are high school seniors and will be graduating in the spring of 2014.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p>
