LOA and Nomination Question

MarineDadHopefulNavySon

MarineDadHopefulNavySon

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Nov 14, 2014
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I've read a couple of places that if MOC nominates a candidate with a LOA it does not count against their 5 slots in the Academy. Is this accurate? How does the LOA get charged?
 
There is no firm answer on that as there a so many different scenarios. Presumably if the MOC uses the principal method and doesn't nominate the LOA holder as the principal, and the principal is 3Q, then in theory you are correct and the LOA holder will not be charged to the MOC. If the principal nominee is not 3Q then anything can happen. Same thing if it's a competitive slate... anything can happen.
 
An LOA candidate can definitely count against the MOC's 5 slots. The fact one has an LOA is not directly relevant to the MOC's situation. It only means that, IF the candidate is 3 Q'ed and gets a nom, he/she will receive an appt. That appt can be slotted to the source(s) of the nom or another source, such as SecNav. If the LOA is not the principal nominee (on a slate that selects a nominee), the principal MAY get the nomination and the LOA be slotted to another source. But that does not always happen -- there is no guarantee that a principal nominee will receive the appointment (unless he/she is also an LOA recipient). The overwhelming majority of LOA recipients will receive an appointment but, as some found out last year, it's not a guarantee.
 
As usual, I defer to usna1985 in all things... which is why I used the phrase "in theory" in my post above. Seems like nothing is ever guaranteed these days except death and taxes. :rolleyes:
 
I should have clarified that my comments re principal apply ONLY to USNA. I cannot speak regarding how USAFA and USMA treat principal nominees -- IOW whether they ALWAYS receive an appointment. I believe they do but could very well be mistaken.
 
Was last year an anomaly or are there always LOA's that get left stranded? If so that would be nonsensical since presumably a LOA candidate is highly qualified, and other candidates in the National Pool could slide in before a LOA.
 
Usna1985,

I believe it is the same for each SA. According to USAFA, a principal nominee must be accepted if otherwise qualified. That means that if 3q an appointment will follow for principal nominees. In such case, my understanding is that MOC is charged.
 
I was trying to figure out if the MOC was charged the LOA if nominated, because then it wouldn't make any sense to nominate a principle (unless you owed mom and dad a favor) because he/she could submit a regular slate and the LOA and get two constituents (if someone on the regular slate was 3Q) into the Academy, but only be charged for one.
 
I remember one day towards the end of Plebe Summer filling out a small card asking if we wanted our parents and congressman to receive our grades (I don't think a single one of us sent our grades to mom and dad!). On that card it annotated our nominating source. Half of us were perplexed what noms we were actually charged to. Bottom line is the Academy does this year in and year out, they know how to put the puzzle together. I am just glad I am not the one who has to put together the puzzle.
 
Was last year an anomaly or are there always LOA's that get left stranded? If so that would be nonsensical since presumably a LOA candidate is highly qualified, and other candidates in the National Pool could slide in before a LOA.
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It was the other way around for USNA last year. LOAs with noms (principal or otherwise) were admitted. A small number of principal nominees who did not have LOAs either did not receive direct appointments (i.e., were sent to NAPS) or were turned down. It was a very small number and last year appeared to be an anomaly. LOAs without noms were typically (not universally, but typically) turned down -- this has been the case for at least the last several years.

I believe it is the same for each SA. According to USAFA, a principal nominee must be accepted if otherwise qualified. That means that if 3q an appointment will follow for principal nominees. In such case, my understanding is that MOC is charged.
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It is my understanding that the wording of the statute differs slightly for each SA. In any event, while principal nominees to USNA typically are appointed, last year a small number were not. And, yes, if the principal nominee is appointed, he/she is likely to be charged to the MOC. However, it is possible that another appointee on the slate could be charged to the MOC while the principal is charged to another source -- for example, if the principal nominee also had a Pres. nomination or a nom from another MOC.
 
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