Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ed Case (Hawai‘i – District 1)
(Honolulu, HI) – U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01) today announced his 2026 nominations to four of our nation’s service academies: the U.S. Military Academy (West Point/Army); U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis/Navy); U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs/Air Force) and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point).
“I take my responsibility to nominate deserving applicants from my district to our legendary service academies very seriously and personally interviewed most of my applicants before making my decisions,” said Case. “I was truly impressed with the applicants, and it was very encouraging and rewarding to have spent time with our next generation of military leaders.”
Case named the following nominees to the four service academies (principal nominee and the rest in alphabetical order by last name):
United States Air Force Academy
Principal nominee: Ryder Goto Kalani High School
Kasyn Amazaki ‘Iolani School
Luke Barner Radford High School
Kodai Eskin Punahou School
John Ganske New Mexico Military Institute/
Moanalua High School
Timothy Iha Pearl City High School
Tuan Pettaway Air Force Academy Preparatory School/ Mililani High School
Christophe Tang Air Force Academy Preparatory School/ Campbell High School
Derrick Ung ‘Aiea High School
United States Military Academy
Principal nominee: Anthony Dang University Laboratory School
Jacob Blaze Cabuhat Punahou School
Liam Martin Punahou School
Jazmine Mayo ‘Aiea High School
Malia McCoy Punahou School
Hayden Noland Punahou School
Parker Noland Punahou School
ChristopherJay Tenorio ‘Aiea High School
United States Naval Academy
Principal nominee: Alicya Robson Naval Academy Preparatory School/
Campbell High School
Liliana Burrell Abeka Academy (home school)
Juliet Caston Campbell High School
Adam Ettlich Soli Deo Gloria Academy (home school)
Shota Eskin Punahou School
Vanessa He Hawaii Baptist Academy
Lyla Matthews Radford High School
Charlotte Nakagawa Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama
Caleb Parsons Moanalua High School
Ezekiel Schulz Radford High School
Jia Qi Zhan Naval Academy Preparatory School/ Roosevelt High School
United States Merchant Marine Academy
Elizabeth Gillaspie Maryknoll School
Parker Reppun Punahou School
For the Class of 2026, Case selected 30 applicants from six private schools, eight public schools and two home schools.
Members of Congress are authorized by law to nominate candidates to four United States Service Academies: the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; the Military Academy at West Point, New York; and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. The Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut does not require a congressional nomination for appointment.
A Congressional nomination does not guarantee acceptance, but in most cases is required for an applicant to be considered. Acceptance of an academy appointment requires at least a nine-year service obligation, including four years at an academy and at least five years of active duty service.
For information on eligibility requirements and how to seek an appointment for the 2027 entering class, please go to Rep. Case’s web site https://case.house.gov/services/service-academy-nominations.htm.
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