Choosing to attend a military service academy can invoke many questions, so to provide some answers, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong hosted an academy meet-and-greet event Aug. 17 In Huntsville, Alabama.

Strong, who represents Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, hosted his first Military Service and Academy Day in 2023 to help students and families navigate the nomination process. Due to its success, the event is now held annually in late summer. Representatives from each military service academy, along with other military service opportunities, such as the National Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, set up booths, provide information and answer questions.

The event began with welcome remarks provided by District Director Dylan Smith, who filled in for Strong, who was sick and unable to attend. Smith thanked the parents for supporting their students and thanked the students for their willingness to serve in the armed forces in any capacity.

“You can have a sense of pride in that you are different,” Smith told the students. “You are standing out from your peers, and you all have the leadership qualities necessary to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military, and we appreciate that; Congressman Strong appreciates that.”

He then turned the floor over to Maj. Gen. Lori Robinson, commander of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command. Robinson, a Paterson, New Jersey native, arrived in Alabama six weeks ago. Before assuming command at AMCOM, she served as the 80th Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. She was uniquely qualified to address the crowd.

Robinson spoke about her path to West Point, telling the students it is different for everyone.

She said, “Everyone has their own path to military service, but the fact that you’re here today and interested in seeing all of those different paths to serve in our military, I want to say, ‘thank you.’ All of the organizations here today are happy that you’re here and that you are interested in serving with one of them.”

Robinson then paused and gave a hearty, “Go Army, beat Navy, beat Air Force.” Afterward, she smiled and said she could now talk equally about the service academies. She noted that while they all have their differences, much of what they do is the same; they are all focused on developing leaders with character for the nation.

“We will need strong leaders in the future,” she said. “Look around our world right now and see what’s going on, and I don’t know what our nation is going to ask our military to do over the coming years, but what I do know is that it’s going to take strong leadership to do it.”

Speaking of strong leaders, Robinson said before she departed West Point in June, she went out with the cadets while they conducted their summer military training. Leading them that day was a young female cadet from Birmingham, Alabama, who was recently named the “First Captain” for the 2024-2025 academic year. It is the highest position in the cadet chain of command.

“I say that because, four or five years ago, she was probably sitting in some gym or auditorium like this thinking about West Point and if that path was right for her,” Robinson said.

She talked about the academic programs that continue evolving and expanding into areas like aerospace and cyber. She talked about Division One athletic team opportunities. She talked about military training, and she was honest about the commitment.

“I won’t tell you I loved every day there,” she said. “It was hard, but attending a service academy is something bigger than yourself. It is a team sport at every academy because it is a rigorous course with academic, physical and military activities. In the end, I think it’s extremely rewarding as well, and I look back fondly on my experiences.”

Robinson said one of her core memories from her first visit to West Point is a poster she saw on the wall of the history department that read, “Much of the history we teach was made by the people we taught.” Alongside the phrase were pictures of storied military leaders — Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gen. George S. Patton, Gen. Douglas MacArthur and others.

“I think about the legacy that goes along with the academies,” she said. “That is part of the experience there. Our academies are not just a college or a university; they are so much more than that. You may study economics, engineering, history, whatever it is, but you really get a degree in character and leadership development when you leave one of the service academies. That’s what the foundation of each one is — building leaders of character who will lead our nation into the future and who can be agile, principal thinkers.”

She encouraged the students to visit every booth and ask all of their questions, and then she left them with the same advice she always gave to her West Point cadets.

“Be positive, do your best and be a good teammate. It may sound very simple, but in the end, it is those three things that, if you keep them in mind each day, they will lead you to be the best person and leader that you can be.”

For more information on Strong’s military service academy nomination process and deadlines, visit https://strong.house.gov/services/military-academy-nominations