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Mosley student awarded appointments to 3 military academies

Collin Breaux
cbreaux@pcnh.com
Dane Harbison is congratulated by his father,, Doug Harbison after receiving his third military academy appointment. Harbison attends Mosley High School and is deciding where to go to further his education. [COLLIN BREAUX/THE NEWS HERALD]

LYNN HAVEN — One of the first words Dane Harbison ever said was “soldier.”

Harbison, 17, has wanted to be in the military his whole life and is aiming to be an officer. The Mosley High School senior and JROTC student has been awarded appointments to three military academies — the Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy and Air Force Academy — and now is deciding where to go.

U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Panama City, called Harbison on Tuesday to award the senior his third academy appointment, this time to the Air Force Academy. Harbison also has applied to colleges inside and outside Florida, and has an Air Force ROTC scholarship for any college in Florida. He already had received appointments to the Naval Academy and the Coast Guard Academy by the time Dunn called about the Air Force Academy appointment.

“I’m just extremely excited and I know I’m going to be really, really torn about where to go next. It’s confusion, excitement, really relief because it’s been a really long process,” said Harbison. “I started in the first half of my junior year, but really that process started in middle school — deciding to go to Mosley for the Junior ROTC program here, and then after that it was constantly preparing for it because they’re looking for a specific kind of candidate for the academies. You’ve got to fit in that mold to get there so I had to do the right things, learn how to lead, learn how to follow, get involved with everything I could, be physically fit, have great grades, take the right classes. It was a lot, but it paid off.”

Harbison said America emphasizes military service, and he sees a military academy as the best route to become an officer. The young man must decide on where to go by May 1.

Dunn called the office of Mosley Principal Brian Bullock to talk with Harbison, and congratulated him on the appointment.

“You continue to amaze and impress me. You have yet another academy appointment,” said Dunn. “That’s your third academy appointment, isn’t it? So that makes you a little bit exceptional. You’ve got a lot to live up to. I know your parents are very, very proud. I know I’ll enjoy following your career and seeing what great things you do for your country.”

His dad, Doug Harbison, said they decided on Mosley for their son because of the school’s curriculum, and having strong adult peers were factors in his son’s accomplishments.

“I think great kids come from the adults that they have around them. Parental involvement is the most important thing and ensuring that your children are around good leaders, and that is honestly why we chose Mosley is because of the JROTC program,” said Doug Harbison. “We’ve been really impressed with the MAPPS (Mosley Advanced Placement Program for Success) program because they’ve enabled him to decide the curriculum that he wanted.”

Bullock said he is “super proud” of Harbison and called him “an impressive young man who showed great leadership skills as a junior last year.”

“He actually came to me wanting to start a club to get other students involved in the academy process, and so he actually started a club to bring in other kids so they know about what it takes and the qualifications to get into one of these academies,” said Bullock. “I’ve known him and his family for the last two years. He’s a stand-up young man. I’m proud to know him and to watch him as he grows in his education and career.”

Master Sgt. Kenneth Hicks, senior Marine instructor for Mosley’s JROTC unit, said Harbison exemplifies leadership traits and principles the unit instills in young adults.