United States military academies

Federal training institutions for people who want to become officers in the US armed forces.The United States Air Force (USAF) Academy was formed by Act of Congress in 1948, and is located near Colorado Springs, CO. The United States Military Academy was founded in 1802, and is now at West Point on the Hudson R, NY. The United States Naval Academy was founded in 1845, and is at Annapolis, MD. In each of these institutions, there are about 4400 officer cadets in training; women have been admitted since 1976. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Academy was founded in 1876, and has been located at New London, CT, since 1936. This has a complement of 850 male and female cadets.

The United States Military Academies, properly known as the United States Service academies, are federal academies for the undergraduate education and training of commissioned officers for the United States armed forces. There are five U.S. Service academies:

United States Military Academy, also known as "West Point" and "Army", founded 1802 United States Naval Academy, also known as "Annapolis" and "Navy", founded 1845 United States Coast Guard Academy, also known as "Coast Guard",founded 1876 United States Merchant Marine Academy, also known as "Kings Point", founded 1942 United States Air Force Academy, also known as "Air Force" (and infrequently as "Colorado Springs"), founded 1954

The term Service academies can be used to refer to all of the academies collectively; The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is under the United States Maritime Administration, a part of the Department of Transportation, although every student at the Merchant Marine Academy is appointed as a Midshipman, Merchant Marine Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve, and has an eight-year military service reserve commitment upon graduation .

Students at the Military Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy are Cadets, while students at the Naval Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy are Midshipmen. Admission is restricted to those students who have applied to an academy, failed initially to qualify either academically or physically but who have demonstrated an ability to qualify during the initial admission selection process:

United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School Prepares students for the Air Force Academy (Air Force) Also located on the campus of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado Military Academy Preparatory School Prepares students for the United States Military Academy (Army/West Point) Presently located at Fort Monmouth near the City of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey but this may change in the future because of the intended closure of Fort Monmouth Naval Academy Preparatory School Prepares students for the United States Naval Academy (Navy/Annapolis), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point), and also the United States Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard).