I read the article regarding the two cadets from JHS entering the Military Academy at West Point this summer. It is another story of great young Americans standing up to serve their country. Our son, Alex recently completed a similar journey and we want to share his story to give those Cadets and family members and idea of the education opportunities offered by our Service Academies.

Alex, a Jupiter resident and 2004 graduate of Suncoast H.S., was one of 1012 cadets who graduated from The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on May 28th. President Bush gave a wonderful and inspiring commencement speech and spent over two hours in the cold rain to honor the Class of 2008 and shake each Cadet's hand (not to mention a few chest bumps, high fives, and hand pounds).

Alex graduated with military distinction and a 3.5 GPA. He received The 2008 Maj Gen Robert J. Smith Award for outstanding performance in the Political Science & International Affairs Major. He was afforded numerous opportunities unique to Service Academies such as participating in a European Immersion Program spending 6 weeks studying in Nice, France; 8 weeks in Washington, DC as a Congressional Intern for Rep. Nancy Boyda from Kansas; and 6 weeks in China on yet another Cultural Immersion Program. He attended the US Naval Academy with the Midshipmen during his first semester of his junior year as an exchange student, and commanded a Cadet squadron the fall semester of his senior year.

Alex is on his way to The F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services of the Health Sciences, located on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. It is a year-round, four-year curriculum that is 700 hours longer than that found at other U.S. medical schools and focuses on subjects that relate to the unique requirements of career-oriented military and public health physicians. Alex hopes to become a cardio-thoracic surgeon.

The USAF Academy, like all service Academies offer unique opportunities to young Americans to learn and grow personally, socially, culturally, and spiritually. If there are parents out there, apprehensive about steering their children towards the Service Academies, you may want to reconsider. The young men and women we met over the past four years are some of the finest our Country has to offer. We wish the two Cadets in the earlier story the best during their journey down the "Long Grey Line"