TDS cadets to enter prestigious US military academies [1]
Monday, May 14, 2007 - 10:45. Updated on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - 19:20.
The acceptance of two Tongan Cadet Officers to the US Military Academy, West Point, and the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, this year is a major step forward for the development of the Tonga Defence Service, said Brigadier Tau'aika 'Uta'atu.
Two Cadet Officers, Latu Vaha'i (21) and Viliami Vunipola are the first TDS Cadet Officers to be accepted by a US Academy after completing a rigorous selection process. Both are graduates of Tonga High School, Form 7, 2005.
The Brigadier said that the original 22 applicants for the prestigious academy went through physical and academic training, and six were short-listed. Personnel from the US came and gave the six physical tests, followed by a Scholastic Assessment Test. "SAT is an examination that all students must pass in order to enter an American university.
"Both boys did very well, particularly Latu Vaha'i. He was accepted both to the Air Force Academy and to Westpoint, and we decided to send him to West Point, and the other boy, Viliami Vunipola, will go to Annapolis, the US Naval Academy."
He said that both cadet officers will be studying for a bachelor's degree in engineering. "It is a four-year course, and all expenses will be borne by the US government."
Brigadier 'Uta'atu said that in 2002 he accompanied the Minister of Defence on a trip to West Point and Annapolis and they expressed their interest of enrolling Tongans at the two academies. "The stumbling block was convincing them to allow the SAT test to be carried out here, and secondly to that was the cost. For Westpoint it is US$40,000 per year, and Annapolis is US$60,000 per annum.
"But in 2005 there was a new US Defense Attache at the US Embassy in Suva, an ex-West Point man, and when we talked to him about sending someone to West Point he was keen to pursue the idea."
Latu and Viliami will enter West Point and Annapolis in the new academic year, starting in September.
The Brigadier said that annually 1,200 applicants are accepted into West Point, "that is from a total applicants of about 9,000 male and about 2,000 female, from 131 countries." He said that this year Tonga was included in an entrant's priority list of 31 countries. The Brigadier believed that the participation by the TDS in the peace-keeping in the Solomon Islands and its involvement in the Iraq war has won recognition by the USA government of Tonga and its defence services.
West Point trains more United States Army officers than any other institution, and a high proportion of distinguished American generals have been West Point graduates. The Academy is located at West Point, New York.