FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Contact: Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777
Marie Gordon, 770-661-0999
Isakson Spends Week in Iraq with Service Members before Hosting 20th Annual Military Service Academy Day in Georgia
More than 800 students, parents attend largest event of its kind in country
More than 800 students and parents attended U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson’s 20th annual Military Service Academy Day on April 27, 2019, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta. Ga.
Isakson dines with U.S. service members from Georgia on April 24, 2019, at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
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Isakson with Air Force Captain David Zitelli from Fayette County, Ga., a 2007 Air Force Academy appointee who was nominated by Isakson.
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MARIETTA, Ga. – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in conjunction with the Georgia congressional delegation, today held the 20th annual U.S. Military Service Academy Day for more than 800 Georgia students interested in attending one of the nation’s prestigious military service academies and their parents.
U.S. Senator David Perdue, R-Ga., and U.S. Representatives Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga.-11, and Rob Woodall, R-Ga.-07, attended Isakson’s annual event designed to help students with the application and nomination process for the nation’s five military service academies. Isakson returned Friday from an official trip to Iraq, where he met with service members from Georgia, some of whom were past service academy appointees, and was unable to attend.
“I’m delighted to host our annual Academy Day for the 20th year with the help and support of our entire Congressional delegation,” said Isakson. “We’ve helped hundreds of Georgians achieve their goals of attending one of the nation’s prestigious military service academies through this opportunity for students and their families to hear directly from each academy and learn more about the application process.”
“This week, I was proud to be with our troops in Iraq. As I visited with service members from Georgia and around the country, I was constantly reminded during my time overseas of how important it is for our all-volunteer force to have the best and the brightest sign up and pursue a career in the military,” Isakson continued. “I’m honored to represent the great state of Georgia and to live in the greatest country on the face of this Earth, and I thank our service members, past, future and present, for their service and sacrifice to keep the United States of America safe and free.”
Isakson joined a bipartisan congressional delegation this week on an official trip to Baghdad, Taji and Erbil, Iraq, where he met with senior State Department officials and U.S. military commanders to receive updates about operations in the region.
On multiple occasions, Isakson’s trip to the Middle East served as a reminder of the importance of educating Georgia students about the nomination process to attend one of the nation’s military service academies. On his first day in Iraq, Isakson’s military aircraft was piloted by one of his own U.S. Air Force Academy nominees. He later met with another academy appointee from Georgia at a lunch at the Baghdad embassy who had attended Isakson’s annual academy day in 2007 and received a nomination for West Point from then-U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.-06, in 2008.
Isakson’s Military Service Academy Day is the largest of its kind in the United States, bringing hundreds of students from across the state in grades eight through 12 and their parents.
There are five service academies: The United States Air Force, Naval, Military, Merchant Marine, and Coast Guard Academies. Nominations are required for all but the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, to which appointments are made on the basis of an annual nationwide competition. To be considered for an appointment to a service academy, an applicant must meet the eligibility requirements established by law and be nominated from an authorized person including a member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. More information on the Military Service Academy Day, academy eligibility criteria and the nomination process can be found here: https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/service-academies.
Background on Isakson’s official travel to Iraq
Combat veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., led Isakson and U.S. Senator Angus King, I-Maine, on their official trip to the Middle East. The trip was Duckworth’s first time returning to the country where was she was shot down in 2004 while flying a Black Hawk helicopter during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The bipartisan congressional delegation spent three days meeting with top Iraqi leaders, American diplomats, and military commanders and service members in the region to gain a better understanding of operational and strategic impacts of U.S. policy and national defense strategy. Isakson and the delegation also met with Kurdish leaders to reiterate the importance of our nation’s alliance with our Kurdish partners who fought alongside American forces against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
On Tuesday, April 23, Isakson and the delegation were flown in military transport aircraft that was piloted by Air Force Captain David Zitelli from Fayette County, Ga., a 2007 Air Force Academy appointee who was nominated by Isakson.
On Wednesday, April 24, Isakson had lunch with U.S. service members from Georgia at the Baghdad embassy where he met Army Captain Donnie Byerly from Alpharetta, Ga., a U.S. Army Captain who attended Isakson’s service academy day in 2007.
Isakson returned from Iraq on Friday, April 26. More information on the trip can be found here. Photos are available here.
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