Do Congressmen always nominate 10 for 1 spot?

#1dbnugfan

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I have been doing some research on nominations and found that Scott Tipton (Colorado- District 3) only nominated 6 for the Naval Academy for the class of 2016. He of course nominated 10 for AFA (I assume that well over 10 applied for a nomination for AFA since it is in Colorado). I am just wondering if it is common for MOCs to nominate less than 10 for 1 vacancy or if there were probably only 6 candidates that applied for his nomination. I will apply for USNA class of 2017 and am just trying to find out how competitive a nomination from Tipton might be.
 
MOCs can pretty much do as they please as far as nominations go. They decide the criteria and they decide the names that go on that list.

So yes, it's possible that an MOC can nominate less than ten. They usually don't, though, because 10 nominated candidates is ten constituents, ten constituent families, ten groups of constituent friends, etc. that now appreciate that MOC a lot more.
 
I've been looking at the nomination lists of small state MOCs, and it seems like most of them don't fill the 10 spots. Would you say that this is due to the MOCs' choice or due to the small number of applicants from those particular areas?
 
I've been looking at the nomination lists of small state MOCs, and it seems like most of them don't fill the 10 spots. Would you say that this is due to the MOCs' choice or due to the small number of applicants from those particular areas?

Both are possible reasons, especially in smaller states. Perhaps the MOC couldn't find 10 qualified candidates; perhaps the MOC couldn't find 10 candidates at all.
 
The choice is the MOC's, of course. If they have not received a full ten apps for a nom slate they may nom just the number they have received, or they may open the rest of the slate to the other those who have applied to the other academies to fill the slate, or they may eliminate any apps who do not meet their standards. The combinations can vary widely as you can see.
 
Just a few years ago there was quite a startling revelation about how some MOC nominate very few candidates.

Over the FIVE YEAR PERIOD of the study, (then) Speaker of the House Pelosi (D-CA) nominated only 19 total candidates, Rep Charles Rangle (D-NY) nominated 8 candidates, and Rep Nydia Velasquez (D-NY) only nominated 4.

Total. All 5 years combined. For all academies combined.

4 nominations. Total.

Some Lawmakers Lag in Academy Nominations

"It's beyond my imagination how someone that has the ability to nominate doesn't do it," Craig Duchossois said last December at his final meeting as chairman of the Naval Academy's Board of Visitors.

Academy leaders and some on Capitol Hill do not put all the blame on the politicians, pointing out that some districts might have a shortage of qualified candidates, either because students have not gotten the necessary academic preparation from their struggling schools, they are unaware of the opportunity, or they are uninterested.

The data from USNA for 2006 supports the "uninterested" conclusion in New York, NY.

Year = 2006
New York City Congressional Districts = 10
Applicants = 44
Admitted = 4

:eek:
 
In fairness, USNA has said that, historically, there are no applicants from some congressional districts. You can't nominate people who don't apply (for a nomination).

As stated above, I can see no reason for a MOC not to nominate 10 people for a slot if there are 10 qualified people. But that's not always the case, difficult as it may be to believe.
 
My senator had well over 100 applications for nominations this year (to all 4 service academies requiring them), but only nominated about 18 or 19 total between the four.
 
My DS was prepared for stiff competition for a nomination. And there was from the senators, but our congressman’s office all but guaranteed my DS that he’d receive that nomination. They said that there simply weren’t 10 qualified applicants each year for the USNA, therefore my DS, with LOA in hand, would secure a nomination. But even if when there is a dearth of applicants, that should not let MOCs off the hook. They should be actively promoting the service academies for a multitude of reasons. I can't believe that there are not 40 qualified kids each year who would at least apply for a nomination to either West Point, Air Force, Navy or the Merchant Marine Academy. Unfortunately, I think it is fair to say that some MOCs don’t think that military service is something young Americans should aspire toward, and that the merits of targeting underrepresented minorities for recruitment in military service (even as officers) is dubious at best.
 
My DS was prepared for stiff competition for a nomination.... but our congressman’s office all but guaranteed my DS that he’d receive that nomination. They said that there simply weren’t 10 qualified applicants each year for the USNA...


UGGGHHH we were redistricted to your congressional district but it wont take effect until two months AFTER nom packets are due. frustrating because in our current congressional district so many people request USNA noms that only about 1/3 can make it on the slate.
 
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UGGGHHH we were redistricted to your congressional district but it wont take effect until two months AFTER nom packets are due. frustrating because in our current congressional district so many people request USNA noms that only about 1/3 can make it on the slate.

I'm sure someone more knowledgable than me will correct me if I'm wrong; but, I don't believe there is any law that says a congressman MUST nominate someone from their own district. Clearly they would normally do so, but if the slate is not full in the new district it might be possible for that MOC to (also) nominate. I think you can make a case for applying for a nomination in both districts. At least its worth a shot. Just trying to think outside the box here.
 
From Congressman Leonard Lance's website:
(http://lance.house.gov/academy-nominations/)


The Nomination Process

To be considered for an appointment to a service academy, an applicant must meet the eligibility requirements established by law and be nominated from an authorized person including a Member of the United States Senate or the House of Representatives. I may nominate applicants who are legal residents within the boundaries of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.

He seems to say he can only nominate those who reside in his district...
 
I'm sure someone more knowledgable than me will correct me if I'm wrong; but, I don't believe there is any law that says a congressman MUST nominate someone from their own district.

Congressmen can only nominate candidates to USNA, USMA, and USAFA who legally reside in their Congressional District.

For USMMA, the boundary is the state in which the district lies, not the district itself (so for USMMA the Congressman can nominate anyone in the state).

For USCGA, there are no nominations used whatsoever, so each candidate competes not only against those in his home district and his home state, but with every candidate across the country.
 
^^^ Thanks! I knew someone would jump out if I were wring.
 
There are also principle nominations as well. In my case, Senator McCain from AZ only makes 2 nominations to each service academy annually, however they are principle nominations so by law if you receive one of his nominations, you HAVE to be offered appointment (assuming that you meet the Academy's minimum qualifications).
 
From my personal experience of serving on two separate Congressional nomination boards and one Senatorial board,

- Many times we never had what we considered 10 fully qualified candidates to certain SAs.
- Sometimes, we gave out nomination to a different SA as a consolation (of course, there were extra nomination).

I have mixed feeling about the nomination process as #5 or later (either ranked or your standing within the nomination cateogroy) have no chance of getting an appointment. It's like making a varsity sports team, but no shot of signficant playing time..
 
Bear in mind, however, by not awarding a nomination to any candidate past #5 in your example, you well may be taking them out of the running for any offer of appointment from the national pool by virtue of not having a nom.

One of the problems with the nomination/appointment interface is that nominators' criteria may not be compatible with the criteria being used for appointment purposes.

Just goes to make it all much more exciting - and stressful.
 
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