Squires in Service Young Alumni Graduates of the Military Academies

by Valerie Lippe P’25, P’28

Life is full of choices. No one feels this more acutely than a high school student struggling to see beyond the limited horizons of youth to select the best start to a career path. For those desiring to serve their country in the United States military, the choices may seem even more daunting, not only because there are multiple paths into the military and multiple branches to choose from, but also because tied to any choice is a commitment of multiple years of military service. Three Delone Catholic young alumni who chose to attend one of the five United States service academies have now progressed far enough down their respective career paths to reflect on their choices and share some of their insights.

Luke Carpenter ‘16

From a young age, Luke Carpenter ’16, had in mind a military career. He attributes his interest in the military to having two grandparents who served in the U.S. Army. Thus, it is not surprising that, when considering his options while a student at Delone Catholic, he chose to apply to the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., popularly known as “West Point,” which prepares cadets for service as commissioned Army officers.

Gaining admission to West Point, or any of the service academies, is no easy feat. The acceptance rates at the service academies are as low as some of the most competitive colleges in the country. Applicants are judged not only on grades and SAT or ACT scores but also on whether they show good moral character, have leadership experience, and can pass a rigorous physical fitness test. In addition, they must receive a nomination from a member of the U.S. Congress.

Luke credits DCHS for helping to prepare him for West Point and contributing to his success in the military. In particular, he believes his involvement in sports at DCHS, baseball and golf, was significant because it built both competitive desire and physical strength. He also believes the friendships at DCHS led him to the path he is on now. “When you surround yourself with people who have similar goals, it is easier to attain those goals,” he notes. “Delone allowed me to create that circle of friends,”

About his decision to attend West Point, Luke notes, “From the beginning, I felt I had made the right choice. But looking back, I am extremely happy that I went to West Point.” Although Luke anticipates a long tenure in the military, he is not yet sure if he will serve the full 20 years until retirement. In any case, he feels he is well-positioned for any career opportunity he might choose.

“Our alumni at West Point are very well connected. Having majored in engineering, after military service, I wouldn’t have any issues finding employment.”

Upon graduation from West Point in 2021, Luke was commissioned a second lieutenant and was assigned to Fort Hood, where he served as a tank platoon leader. He was subsequently promoted to first lieutenant and, in the fall of 2023, was selected from among the 12 tank platoon leaders to become the scout platoon leader.

Luke identifies “a positive attitude” as perhaps the single most important trait for success in the military. “Those with a positive attitude are better at stress management and time management.” Among his peers, he notes, “those who experience the most success have a positive outlook that allows them to bounce back from difficult experiences.”

Considering what he likes most about military service, Luke notes, “I definitely enjoy the people. I love being around my soldiers.” More broadly, he enjoys the opportunity to serve. “I love being able to do something with my life to make things a little better.”

John Mall ‘16

John Mall ‘16, did not begin to consider the military as a potential career until his junior year at Delone Catholic. Having a fatherand uncle in the Air Force and a sister who went to the Merchant Marine Academy influenced his thinking, but he was not immediately sure what path he would take. After looking at the Service Academies, he ruled out West Point. “Not a good fit for me,” he says.

John was finally sold on the Navy when, as a rising senior, he attended a week-long summer program at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Nevertheless, he kept his options open, applying not only to the Naval Academy but also to other four-year colleges with a Naval ROTC program. “I decided to go to the Academy,” he says, “because I felt like they offered the widest range of opportunities.”

There are 24 different service assignments, or “communities,” available to midshipmen after graduation from the Naval Academy, which fall within4 broad categories: “U.S. Marine Corp,” “surface warfare,” “aviation” and “submarines.” John chose submarines. “I came into the Naval Academy wanting to fly,” he says. But after a two-week tour on a submarine out of Georgia during the summer after his freshman year, his interest was piqued. “I was surprised that I really liked it,” he admits. “I felt like I really fit in with the crew. I appreciated their personalities and thought what they were doing was pretty interesting.” In the following summers, he had a chance to explore other communities, but never found any he liked better.

John graduated from the Naval Academy with commissions in May of 2020. He was assigned to a submarine still in its construction phase. “We’re sitting in the water now. When I first showed up, it was just half an engine room open on both ends sitting in a warehouse.” Thus, to get the experience he needs for his career, he is sent out on other submarines.

On a six-month tour, about half the time is spent out at sea. Running low on food is the only hard limit to the amount of time the boat can be at sea, during which time it might be underwater for as long as a month at a stretch. “We make our own air and water, and since we are nuclear-powered, we don’t have to refuel for 30-plus years,” John explains.

When not on an official mission, his typical day at sea would be split between training and studying to obtain certain qualifications, maintenance, and completing his eight-hour watch in the cramped engine room, where he is the officer in charge of the propulsion and nuclear reactor spaces and operations. “You form really great team cohesion, spending eight hours of watch with the same people every day for months on end,” he observes. “You get very efficient at how you do things with those people.”

Currently a Lieutenant, John has been on active duty for about four and a half years. He will leave his boat in January to begin two years of shore duty as an instructor in the Navy’s submarine school. “At this point, I’ve decided I’m going to do my shore duty and then get out and do a different career,” he says. “Definitely something engineering, probably engineering management.” He is optimistic about his career prospects. “The skill set I have been equipped with and just what I do on a day-to-day basis has really set me up for success for the future.”

Reflecting on the qualities needed for success in the submarine community in which exam taking is constant, he says, “Selfdiscipline and study skills are way up there.” He adds, “and a good sense of humor, definitely.” He also acknowledges the importance of keeping a level head by developing good stress management and coping skills. “When an officer gets emotionally charged, it can have bad consequences for the sailors under him.”

John believes that DCHS prepared him well for his career path. “It put me in a really good spot to succeed academically.” He also credits Delone with helping to form in him a sense of discipline, morals, and service. Regarding his decision to choose military service, the fundamental mission of which is to protect the Nation, he notes, “I feel like that is carried over from Delone Catholic.”

Julie Ernst ‘13

As a high school student at Delone Catholic, Julie (Mall) Ernst ‘13, sister of John Mall ‘16, might not have imagined that she would one day be working in the engine room of a drillship, but she knew she wanted something different and challenging. “I liked being hands-on,” she says, “so that’s what drew me to engineering.” With family in the military, she also wanted to serve in some way. She chose the United States Merchant Marine Academy, located in Kings Point, N.Y.

Unlike the other U.S. service academies, which commission graduates into active duty, the Merchant Marine Academy allows graduates to choose either to work five years as a civilian in the U.S. maritime industry while serving eight years in the U.S. reserves or commission into active duty in the military with a five-year commitment. In addition, midshipmen graduate from the Merchant Marine Academy with a U.S. Coast Guard sailing license.

Upon graduation from the Merchant Marine Academy in 2017, where she studied engineering, Julie chose to work in the commercial sailing industry and commission into the Navy reserves. After a short assignment at a desk job at the Naval shipyard in Philadelphia, supporting the modernization of destroyer-class vessels, she began working for the offshore drilling contractor Transocean. “I worked as a third engineer on a drill ship,” she says. The drill ship would go wherever needed in the Gulf of Mexico to open a new oil well or close up an old one. Because she worked in the engine room, the job allowed her to use her Coast Guard sailing license.

To perform her job, she would take a helicopter to the drill ship, live on board for a three-week shift, and then be off for three weeks before starting the next shift. She was part of a team responsible for all the work and maintenance necessary to keep the main engines running to power the drilling operations. She worked not only on the main engines but on all the supporting systems, including the drinking water, air conditioning, and sewage systems. While she did not set out to be a trailblazer, she admits, “There were not a lot of women working on this job.”

Looking back on her high school experience, Julie believes DCHS prepared her well academically. For her first-level math classes at the Academy, she says, “I found I had already done most of it at Delone.” More generally, she notes, “There was a good structure

and support system at Delone. I needed that to get through the Academy and maintain discipline.” As at DCHS, she continued to seek out friends with whom she could go to Mass and share her faith.

Now living in Japan with her husband, who is active duty in the Air Force, and her new baby, Julie has put her maritime career on pause and is not sure what direction it may take in the future. Nevertheless, she is very positive about her experience at the Merchant Marine Academy, which allowed her to serve her country and to engage in interesting and challenging work.

Although the level of discipline necessary for success in military service may seem intimidating to many, Julie believes that discipline is not necessarily something one is born with but something that can be learned. “All people from all kinds of backgrounds go into different communities in the military, and I think that if you’re a good person and a hard worker and have genuine intentions of wanting to serve, there would be some type of capacity that you could do that in.”