The rumor that LOAs are not charged to their MOCs is simply not true. If you look at the laws regarding appointments to the academies, LOAs are not mentioned anywhere, and the laws make it very clear that unless you receive a VP or Supe's nom, or get in off of the NWL, you will need to be charged to your MOC. The fact is that an LOA, in terms of the actual, behind the scenes process for getting candidates appointed, means nothing. It is simply the admissions office letting a candidate know that their WCS is so high, that as long as they get at least one nomination, they will be accepted, either by being charged to their MOC or off the NWL. Don't get me wrong, LOAs are important as only the very, very top candidates receive them, but they don't give you some type of special status as far as nominations go. You WILL still get charged to your MOC, or else you will be appointed off of the NWL. The academies purposely limit the number of LOAs they send out so that they don't run into the situation of having too many LOA recipients and not enough nominations.