Uh, there IS this little detail that you must be nominated by a U.S. Congressman from the district you live in before even being considered by West Point.
So what's your point?
That is NOT true. Most cadets are nominated by members of Congress, but the law allows the President and the Secretary of the Army to appoint people. General William Westmoreland was the Chief of Staff of the Army from 1968 to 1972 and his boss was the Stanley R. Resor who was the Secretary of the Army.
Title 10 of the United States Code, Chapter 403, Section 4342 states that the Secretary of the Army can appoint 85 cadets from the ranks of the active duty Army, Navy, or Air Force; 85 from the reserve components of the A/N/AF; and 20 from schools deemed by the Secretary of the Army to be superior.
In short, one need not be nominated by a member of Congress to be admitted to the US Military Academy (or the US Naval Academy or the US Air Force Academy.)
What people believe to be true is often false. In this case your belief that a person must be appointed by a member of Congress is and always has been false.
But if your commander wants you in west point, he finds the sponsoring senator.
Its usually academic after your commanding officer puts you up for admittance.
Catnipman, a nomination from your Congressman or Senator is one method. You can also be nominated by the Vice President and there are several other ways for which nominations and appointments can be given to prospective cadets such as the 100 or so appointments reserved for enlisted men who want to attend as well as some special categories for those who are outright recruited for sports or for other reasons. Needless to say, if a four star wants someone to get a nomination or appointment, there are several means the by which his desires will be carried out. Given the unpopularity of the military in 1969, there were classes in the early 1970’s which were very hard to fill because of the unpopularity of the military at the time. The informal verbal offer from Westmoreland would have been pretty much a guarantee of a formal appointment if Carson had simply applied. The appointments are often referred to as full scholarships for people who may not be familiar with the Academy. The entire hullabaloo is making much to do about nothing.
“Uh, there IS this little detail that you must be nominated by a U.S. Congressman from the district you live in before even being considered by West Point.”
Service academy nominations come from multiple sources:
Each Congressman can nominate 10 candidates each year for each service academy; however, each Congressman is limited to the number of his candidates who can be students at that academy at any one time (I think that number is 2.)
Candidates are also encouraged to apply for nominations from each of their 2 US Senators and the Vice President.
Candidates who are children of active-duty service members or honorably-discharged veterans are also entitled to a Presidential nomination. Most of these also apply to congressman/senator/vp.
Candidates in the ROTC can be nominated by their ROTC commanding officer.
Finally, a service academy will secure a nomination from some source for students that they want, e.g., an athlete or a high-performing minority student with high test scores and proven leadership history in the JROTC like the young Ben Carson.
Incidentally, my wife is a USNA Information Officer (”Blue and Gold Officer”) who advises and interviews candidates for Navy. I help her man the table at college fairs, and it is the rule rather than the exception that high school students looking at the Naval Academy do not really understand the distinction between full scholarship and the fact that Navy Midshipmen and Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard Cadets are actually on active duty while in college and owe a minimum of 5 years of active duty after receiving their “free” education. In fact, many don’t grasp the difference between an ROTC scholarship and a service academy appointment.