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During a time of dwindling public support for the war in Iraq, Daniel Stulz wants to be a cadet at the United States Military Academy.

Stulz, 14, said he is working hard at Palmetto Ridge High School so he can attend the academy.

His long-term goals are to have a military experience, serve his country in the field of battle and to be in politics.

About 85 students with similar aspirations joined Stulz on Saturday at the third annual Service Academy Day Seminar held at Estero High School. It was hosted by U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers.

Mack said the war in Iraq may be a reason for some of the students’ interest.

“I think for some, certainly that’s it,” Mack said. “For others, they’re just looking for a good, quality education. Looking for any opportunity they can.”

Students look forward to a chance to attend an academy.

“If you graduate from the academy it just puts you on a whole other level,” said Dunbar High School junior Ian Culp, whose brother is enlisting in the Air Force.

Culp, whose interest is network security, said the Coast Guard Academy’s program is “state-of-the-art.”

Students at the event heard from several speakers, including two recent appointees who will begin classes at the various academies during the summer.

After the session of speakers, which included Mack and retired Maj. Gen. James Dozier, who was kidnapped by terrorists in Italy in 1981, students broke into sessions with representatives of five military academies.

Kallen Judah, who has received an appointment to the Air Force Academy, encouraged those in attendance to focus on their goals. He is pursuing a career in aviation.

“The decision to attend a service academy is not so concrete in the beginning. I do not have a JROTC program at my high school and my parents are not in the military,” said Judah, who attended Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers. “Make this your own decision. Don’t do it for a parent or a grandparent.”

Sean Quinn, a sophomore at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, is pursuing a career in the military and hopes to attend a service academy.

His father, Jim, said he supports his son’s interests despite the danger of such a career.

“If this is something he’s interested in, then I’ll be behind him,” he said.

Stulz’s mother, Stacie Stulz, felt a little differently, but understands the decision of her son.

“Well it worries me, because he’s my son, of course,” said Stulz’s mother, Stacie. “But I am really proud of him that he believes in his country that much.”