Annapolis, Maryland
The United States Naval Academy was founded in 1845 on the site of Fort Severn, and now occupies an area of land reclaimed from the Severn River next to the Chesapeake Bay. The Annapolis area was the home of a VLF-transmitter called NSS Annapolis, which was used by the United States Navy to communicate with its Atlantic submarine fleet. Students that attend the Naval Academy are enrolled in school for four years with a following five year commitment to serving in the Marine Corps or Navy. There is a typical average of around 4,500 students enrolled.
Aviation Cadet Training Program (USN)
In 1911, the navy began training its first pilots at the newly founded Aviation Camp at Annapolis, Maryland. In 1914, the navy opened Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, dubbed the "Annapolis of the air", to train its first naval aviators. Candidates had to have served at least two years of sea duty and training was for 12 months. In 1917, the navy's program became part of the Flying Officer Training Program. Demand for pilots, however, still exceeded supply. The navy organized an unfunded naval militia in 1915 encouraging formation of ten state-run militia units of aviation enthusiasts. The Naval Appropriations Act of 29 August 1916 included funds for both a Naval Flying Corps (NFC) and a Naval Reserve Flying Corps. Students at several Ivy League colleges organized flying units and began pilot training at their own expenses. The NFC mustered 42 navy officers, six United States Marine Corps officers, and 239 enlisted men when the United States declared war on 6 April 1917. These men recruited and organized qualified members from the various state naval militia and college flying units into the Naval Reserve Flying Corps.