"I'm so enthused that he is still focused and moving forward," West added. "You have to be hungry for this, and Marcus is."
But, in typical fashion, Robinson isn't resting on his laurels. He is looking down the road and researching what comes next.
While he said he is looking forward to 30 days of leave, which begins immediately after his commissioning today, he will report June 23 for his first two-year tour of duty. Assigned to surface warfare on the naval destroyer USS Forrest Sherman, which is in the Caribbean, he will be stationed in Norfolk, Va. His fiancee, Amber Whalen, will join him there.
But since he had hoped to be assigned to naval aviation warfare to advance his plan to become a pilot, he is thinking about how he can get a transfer for his second tour. There is one obstacle: Pilots must have 20-20 vision, he said.
"Midshipmen are now permitted to have laser surgery to correct their eyesight, but my astigmatism put me outside allowable limits for the procedure to be successful," he said, conveying news he heard last summer.
With that path blocked, he said, he is working toward a waiver to allow vision correction with contact lenses to suffice so he can apply to transfer when the time comes.
Meanwhile, there is the possibility that he could be sent to Iraq - technically, as soon as June 23 when his leave is up.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, who nominated Robinson to the academy, said, "Marcus went into the academy after the war had started, and it has been going on the entire time he's been in the academy. So he knew what to expect. You've got to respect him for his patriotism and bravery."
"When the war started in Iraq, I could tell it wasn't going to be a war that would end quickly," said Robinson. "It's not that I like war or anything, but I am prepared to serve my country. This is something we talk about all the time at school - being part of something bigger."
"The numbers in the enlisted ranks are horrible, with a lot fewer applying, so it's nice to talk about the positive side," Cummings said. "It's people like Marcus who make you feel good about the future of America."
Cummings, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and on the Board of Visitors at the Naval Academy, said he recalls Robinson as "a strong, young man who could serve as a role model" for high school students and encourage them to enter military academies.
