Nominations and Congressional District Confusion

Hello All!

This is my first post on the forums, although I have been lurking and learning for some time now.

I am in the application process for a MOC nomination. The ball is steadily rolling with the MOC from my district. Upon reading on the USMMA Admissions website, as well as here, I contacted the office of a MOC outside of my district. When I mentioned that I had read I could apply to all MOC whose districts are within my State, she was very quick to tell me this was not true. That call ended very quickly, and the only thing I accomplished was RSVP’ing for that MOC’s Academy Day.

I’ve reread the USMMA Admissions page several times and have searched the forums for any other information in regard to this being changed or simply not true.

So, am I able to apply to all the MOC from my state?

If so what would be the most appropriate way to inform the staffers at other MOC’s offices that I am in fact allowed to apply from another district?

Thank you all in advance for responses to this post as well as the tons of useful information many of you have already posted!

The Congressman's staff is ignorant of the law.

With regard to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the locality boundary for nomination by a Representative is the State in which the District lies rather than just the District itself. Each Representative and each Senator may nominate ten candidates each year to compete for admission.

However, the MOC may wish to only award his/her 10 nominations to residents of his district, which is his/her right, and is perfectly acceptable.

Just because it is legally allowed doesn't mean the MOC must do it. They are free to use whatever criteria they wish, and restricting their nominations to their district might be one of them.

TITLE 46 > Subtitle V > Part B > CHAPTER 513 > § 51302

§ 51302. NOMINATION AND COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT OF CADETS

(a) Requirements.— An individual may be nominated for a competitive appointment as a cadet at the United States Merchant Marine Academy only if the individual—

(1) is a citizen or national of the United States; and

(2) meets the minimum requirements that the Secretary of Transportation shall establish.

(b) Nominators.— Nominations for competitive appointments for the positions allocated under subsection (c) may be made as follows:

(1) A Senator may nominate residents of the State represented by that Senator.

(2) A Member of the House of Representatives may nominate residents of the State in which the congressional district represented by that Member is located.

Click to expand...

The law simply gives them the legal authority to nominate someone outside their district (but must reside in the same state) it doesn't require them to.

Luigi- the Coastie with Mostie! Thank you for explaining that so well.
Hopeful2016, great huh? Just think you can fill out several more applications, work and rework that killer essay and get more transcripts from your school staff! What fun! Just think how happy you will be to ask for more letters of recommendation? I kid because one year ago my DS was so entrenched with all this work. Worth it! FYI, if you have an outgoing congressman ( for any reason) their office may be quicker to finish up their business. With this being off the election year cycle I don't know if that will help you. One of our senators retired and moved the deadline up by a month. It was nice to get the nomination so early. Another application tidbit. Check and recheck that the answer bubbles are correct on the electronic portion of your application. DS had an issue with that. Particularly where it asks about your past and run ins with the law. Sounds stupid but it happened. I told the story a few threads back funny,,,,,now.
Best of luck and keep asking the questions. Working out? Get preparing for the PFT. Are you able to schedule an overnight visit? DS asked for that last year for his 18th birthday. How could I refuse? He went on his own. Have you contacted any coaches if you participate in a sport? These are all things you can be doing now. DODMERB? Get on it. DS got all this done very early last year. The result is he actually got to enjoy his senior year.
Good luck kid!

When a staffer tells you that you must reside in the district, simply state in the most respectful manner you can that the Merchant Marine Academy has slightly different nomination rules as it is governed by DOT and not DOD and then provide the CFR reference above.

Unless the Congressman sits on some type of relevant committee he/she and his/her staff arelikely to be uninformed of the subtle differences. Most people hear the word academy and they assume that all are the same.

To emphasize ... BE RESPECTFUL. No one likes to find out that a high schooler knows more about their job than they do and Washington egos bruise very easily.

Thank you all for your responses. I am going to contact all the other MOC's offices today.

Luigi59- Thank you for the clarification and the reference.

Lynpar- It does create more work but I much rather know I did everything I could at the end rather than wishing I had done more. I've already contacted all of my previous coaches and requested all of my transcripts. I requested 10 copies of everything to be on the safe side and offered to repay postage to everyone.

KPEngineer- I'll make sure to be extremely respectful as to not bruise any Washington Egos!

Thanks again for the advice and words of encouragement!

Another thought is to include a cover letter with any package. In it state that you realize you are not in their district but you are applying to all Representatives from your state as you are that dedicated to KP. Include the entire reference also, to save the staffers from having to look it up.

A great explanation can be viewed at the below link. It pertains to West Point, but it is the same process:

http://www.west-point.org/academy/malo-wa/educators/noms.html

MMAdad2015 said:

A great explanation can be viewed at the below link. It pertains to West Point, but it is the same process:

http://www.west-point.org/academy/malo-wa/educators/noms.html

Click to expand...

No, it is not the same process, it is very different.

The USMMA nomination process does not allow any Presidential or VP nominations, nor any service-connected nominations. And USMMA nominations can come from ANY MOC in the applicant's state, not just from the district in which they reside (as is the case with WP).

And the appointment process is also significantly different, as USMMA appointments are proportional to the state's Congressional representation, instead of the "5 charged to a MOC" that is used at the DOD academies.

Your West Point link explains the 3 DOD academy process - USMA, USNA, and USAFA, but not USMMA.

Hopeful2016, fill out The recruiting questionnaire and contact the coaches at KP through the website. They may be able to help you also. Coach Tedesco ( swimming and diving ) was a great contact throughout the entire process. I think that motivation helped DS stay focussed throughout senior year, have fun but not get the dreaded senioritis. He also made it to state! We were not expecting that. What ever your extracurricular interests are start building those contacts now.

Update

I contacted all of my MOC's offices today. Two of the three outside my district listened to what I had to say and have sent me their application packets. The third was the most informative, but did send me a packet because they have a policy of nominating from their district only as mentioned previously.

I made some good points of contact today, and learned about more Academy Days to attend.

My next question is about the Field Reps. I have contacted two with no luck. The first one listed is the closest, and only listed a phone number. I called and left a message last week and have not heard anything back. I tried the next closest one this afternoon, and a gentleman answered and stated that he had this number for six months and keeps getting these types of calls while not know what the USMMA is! Is this common? Is communication with a Field Rep crucial to this process? Should I continue to contact them until I get a response?

KPEngineer- Thanks for the advice on the cover letter!

46 usc 51302

The authority cited by Luigi is a statute, not a regulation, and the correct citation in a cover letter would be 46 USC 51302

On the quest for contact with a field rep to talk to I would call the admissions office and talk to the Admissions Officer who has your State Assigned if possible or either of the two women in the office Betty or Darlene who usually know who in an area is active and have their current contact information (the information in the pdf catalog on the website can lag updates as you've already found.) That's probably the best place and will work. However, if that doesn't work for you try going online here and find the nearest Alumni Chapter to you and usually there is someone there who knows who the current alumni that are active/current admissions field reps:

http://kpa-cpa.com/USMMAAF CPC/USMMA KPA Chapters Region Roster POST.XLS

If that still doesn't work, PM me, I'm in Virginia but I'll find out one way or the other who is your nearest AFR in MS or otherwise close to your area.

Good luck!