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[NavyRedneck]

Congrats on the scholarship. I graduated USNA in 2001 and did a tour on a submarine. Now I'm on the engineering side but still in the Navy. I've loved it. The academy was much of what you made of it (like everything else in life). It's challenging and at times, frustrating, but I still think they produce the best naval officers (which is why I chose to go there after I spent some time as an enlisted). That difference disappears over time, however, such that by the end of your first sea tour, you won't be able to distinguish academy graduates from graduates of any other commissioning source.

I would think a lot of it would boil down to what he wants to do as an officer and he should then let that determine where he goes to college. If he wants to fly his best bet would be the Air Force academy or USNA. If he wants to do ships or submarines then Citadel or the Merchant Marine Academy would work. Some of my fellow graduates focused a lot of their attention in high school on the service school and not on the following military obligation. The military can be a great career if you find a job that you enjoy and find challenging.

Also nice about Citadel is the location. My favorite duty station so far has been Charleston. I just finished a 2.5 year tour at a Navy school there and I have a friend who is in currently in the Citadel, hoping to join the Marine Corps after graduation. The weather is phenomenal and while the city is pretty big, it doesn't have the traffic problems that big cities have. Plus, it would be closer for you to visit. Also, if he decided that service wasn't for him, he could drop the scholarship at the two year mark and still stay at the Citadel to finish his degree (no small accomplishment in that part of the South).

If he wants to talk more send me a PM and I'll give you my phone number and email. I work long hours during the week but my weekends are free. And don't worry, the last thing I would try to convince anyone to do would be to join the submarine service...