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Lithuanian Cadets entering Class of 2006 at US Service Academies awarded with Certificates of Admission

June 14, 2002

Vilnius, 14 June 2002, -- US Chargé d'affaires Mr. William Davnie presented Mr. Tadas Alasevicius a Certificate of Admission to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Miss Ieva Bagdziunaite a Certificate of Admission to the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, and Mr. Jevgenij Vidiajev a Certificate of Admission to the United States Coast Guard Academy at New London. All three cadets received a full scholarship from the United States Government to fund all four years of their academic and military studies. The cost of a four-year US service academy education is approximately a quarter million dollars.

Jevgenij Vidiajev comes from Klaipeda, and has just finished his third year at the Klaipeda Maritime Institute, where he has specialized in nautical engineering. Vidiajev is one of only five international students representing five nations accepted as international candidates for the Coast Guard Class of 2006. Other countries represented in this class are St. Lucia, Malta, Honduras, and Latvia. Jevgenij Vidiajev will depart Lithuania on 17 June for Connecticut to begin his life as a military cadet entering the US Coast Guard Academy, a member of the Class of 2006.

Ieva Bagdziunaite is from Vilnius, and just completed her final exams for her first year at the Lithuanian Military Academy. She is the first female Lithuanian candidate ever to be accepted at a United States service academy and will proudly take her place in the Corps of Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy.

Tadas Alasevicius is the fourth Lithuanian candidate to receive an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He is from Siauliai, where he just finished high school. He has won several regional and national level mathematics competitions, and is accomplished in the martial arts. Tadas Alasevicus and Ieva Bagdzuinaite will both depart Lithuania on the 18th of June 2002.

Currently, Lithuania has five cadets attending US service Academies: two each at the United States Military Academy, and one each at the Untied States Naval, Air Force, and Coast Guard Academies. In addition, LT Vytenis Benetis graduated last year form the US Naval Academy, and has won a full scholarship to pursue doctoral studies in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. US Department of Defense directives stipulate that no more than three students from the same country can attend any one academy at a time.

The selection process for these three candidates began last summer. Candidates contact the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense. They undergo a screening process, which includes English language testing, medical testing, scholastic and physical testing. The top candidates are administered the standardized US collegiate tests: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Candidates then work with the Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation at the US Embassy in Vilnius to complete the necessary paperwork, prepare essays, and pass a rigorous physical fitness test.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense Training and Studies Section is currently in the process of recruiting candidates for next year’s program.