Tied principal nominees?

[navyhope123]

Hello,

I was told, from my Congressman, that I tied for the principal nomination to the Naval Academy. I was wondering if that has happened before and how the Academy chooses which candidate to offer the appointment to?

 

[flieger83]

If the MOC uses the "principal, nine alternates" method, THEY must choose the principal; the academy won't do it for them.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83

 

[Pima]

I agree with flieger. However, there could be a caveat that the OP didn't know. The MOC could have 2 slates, thus, they could place 1 on each slate. Remember every MoC can have 5 charged to them at any time, hence 1 yr it is feasible to submit 2 slates with principals on each slate. If that is not the case and they only are submitting 1 slate, than they cannot have 2 principals, it must be the 1 and 9 alts.
~ MoC staffs are briefed annually on how the nom. system works and are told how many they have available for charging.

navyhope123,
Have you received the letter yet from the MoC? Many MoCs will state in their congratulatory letter if you are the principal, and the method they use when submitting their slate to any SA.

 

[USMA 1994]

We need a USNA BGO to weigh in on the specifics, but I am 99.9% sure that the Naval Academy has a little different rules relating to Principal nominees. They do not have to admit the person identified by the MOC.

The reason I am telling you this is to ensure you keep working to improve your packet. Keep striving to be the best candidate in your district regardless of the type of nomination.

 

[NavyHoops]

That is correct. Per US Code USNA is written slightly different when it comes to principal Noms. In the large majority of cases USNA will recognize the principal Nom and of the candidate is 3Q, receive an appointment. It’s not 100%, and there are no published stats on this, but I would venture to say it’s in the high 90% range. If this MOC has 2 slates to submit for the year there still isn’t a tie. They would have 2 slates that would have a principal on each with 9 alternates on each. Again, no requirement to appointment the principal for USNA, but it does happen in most cases.

 

[usna1985]

I was told, from my Congressman, that I tied for the principal nomination to the Naval Academy. I was wondering if that has happened before and how the Academy chooses which candidate to offer the appointment to?

It's REALLY hard to know what this means. "Tied" suggests at least two people were named the principal on the same slate. That actually can't be the case, as above posters said. There is only one principal nominee, hence the term "principal."

So, this could mean that the MOC actually submits a competitive slate -- thus, technically, all 10 are tied for the principal nom when in fact no one is ranked higher than the other. However, it makes people feel better to think they were "tied" for the principal nomination vs. 1 of 10 on a competitive slate. It could mean the MOC person who called you doesn't understand terminology and is not using the term "principal" correctly as a term of art (rather, thinking all nominees are "principals"). It could also mean that the MOC is telling you that there's a tie but could be listing only one person as principal on the slate they submit -- IOW, at the last minute, the MOC breaks the tie.

As Hoops said, USNA almost always selects the principal nominee provided he/she is fully qualified. However, there is a bit of "wiggle room" in the law, so not the certainty that there is for the other SAs.

 

[navyhope123]

I agree with flieger. However, there could be a caveat that the OP didn't know. The MOC could have 2 slates, thus, they could place 1 on each slate. Remember every MoC can have 5 charged to them at any time, hence 1 yr it is feasible to submit 2 slates with principals on each slate. If that is not the case and they only are submitting 1 slate, than they cannot have 2 principals, it must be the 1 and 9 alts.
~ MoC staffs are briefed annually on how the nom. system works and are told how many they have available for charging.

navyhope123,
Have you received the letter yet from the MoC? Many MoCs will state in their congratulatory letter if you are the principal, and the method they use when submitting their slate to any SA.

Pima,
Thank you for your reply.
I have not received the letter from the MoC yet, I only received a call from one of the panel members. I haven't gotten any new information, but I am under the impression that the Congressman will have to make a decision before submitting the slate.

 

[navyhope123]

Thank you everyone for your input. I don't know if the MoC has two vacancies this year, but my understanding from the call I received is that another candidate and I were the top two candidates out of the 10 nominees.

 

[NavyHoops]

That can really mean anything. How they get entered into the system is the key. Just because they said top two, doesn’t really mean much. They could of entered a ranked slate or even entered an in ranked slate and the board mentioned you were top two. Bottom line, is it’s a Nom, regardless of type. You have to have one to be appointed and that is the key. Congrats!

 

[navyhope123]

That can really mean anything. How they get entered into the system is the key. Just because they said top two, doesn’t really mean much. They could of entered a ranked slate or even entered an in ranked slate and the board mentioned you were top two. Bottom line, is it’s a Nom, regardless of type. You have to have one to be appointed and that is the key. Congrats!

Thanks