THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 20, 1994 TAG: 9412200294
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: BALTIMORE LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
The U.S. Naval Academy says applications are down, in part because graduates now must serve six years on active duty instead of five.
``To the 17-year-old mind, six years is not just an eternity, but their whole conscious life,'' said Chase Untermeyer, the incoming chairman of the academy's Board of Visitors. ``Five years is the way to go.''
Applications to the academy have dropped 12.8 percent since last year and 8 percent overall since the obligation was increased in 1992. The 15-member Board of Visitors, made up of members of Congress and presidential appointees, plans to ask President Clinton in its annual report this week to reconsider the six-year commitment, Chairman Fred McClure said Monday.
Academy officials conceded that the shrinking military is another reason for lessening interest and that the drop in applications did not start with the longer obligation.
One Board of Visitors member, Catherine Colgan of Virginia Beach, also noted that one benefit of an academy education, a reserve commission, is easier to get through college Reserve Officer Training Corps programs. ROTC graduates owe the government only four years.
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., have seen an 11 percent decline in applications since the six-year obligation went into effect.
Despite the drops, the academies are still popular choices, bringing in more than 10,000 applications each year. Those applications had been as high as 14,000 per school, seeking one of the 1,100 class seats.
The Naval Academy's Class of 1998 - the current plebe class - brought 11,340 applications, academy officials said Monday. About that number is expected next year when between 1,130 and 1,150 will be admitted.
While Air Force officials agree that the service requirement is a factor, Army officials aren't so sure.
``Kids may want to have a stable employer,'' West Point spokesman Maj. Jay Ebbeson said. ``We just don't think the six years is the reason.''
The five-year obligation, which dates to 1968, was increased to get a greater return on taxpayers' investment. A service academy education costs taxpayers about $250,000.
KEYWORDS: MILITARY ACADEMIES by CNB