Encourage, motivate, provide financial assistance, and talk to your loved one about the benefits and opportunities the service academies and military provide. However, understand that the decision to come to NMMI or attend a service academy MUST be theirs. Assist them in filling out the paperwork and applications, but let them be the ones that do it. Encourage them to call NMMI or the academies on their own for most questions. One of the biggest reasons cadets leave NMMI early is because they came for someone else. The academy environment is extremely challenging – more so if the student is there for someone else, and not because they want to be there.