U.S. Sen. Rand Paul reminded students at Thursday evening’s Academy Information Fair that members of the military and members of Congress take an oath to defend the Constitution.

Students came to the information fair at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center to get more information about the country’s five service academies.

It’s important that they know, as prospective students of service academies, that the country is a constitutional republic where people have rights that predate government, rather than a pure democracy where the will of the majority rules the minority, said Paul, a Bowling Green Republican.

“When we founded our country, we thought that these rights were given by our creator,” he said.

Those are the rights that service academy grads – ranging from the U.S. Air Force Academy to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy – will be defending, he said.

U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, spoke to potential students about his own experiences at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

While attending a service academy is strenuous and difficult, it’s also the experience of a lifetime and one that bonds students together, he said.

“You’ll make friends like you’ve never made friends,” Guthrie said.

In order to get a spot at four of the five U.S. service academies, students must receive a nomination that can come from a number of sources, including their representative or a senator from their state. No nomination is required for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

“It’s a really arcane process,” Guthrie said before the fair began.

Just like the academies do, Guthrie’s staff members look at academic indicators such as test scores and transcripts to show that the student can thrive at a demanding service academy, he said.

“You have to really be able to grasp things quickly,” Guthrie said.

Extracurricular activities are also an important factor, he said.

“You don’t want somebody that’s just a brain. You want somebody that can lead men and women,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie said he sometimes still regrets not pursuing a career in the military as he originally planned.

“The Berlin Wall came down when I was in the Army, and it kind of changed the tone of the Army when I was there,” he said.

Guthrie got out of Army in 1990 and served another 11 years in the reserves.

He said it’s important for those who are applying to the academies and seeking his nomination to at least be open to the idea of a career in the military.

Seven veterans serve on a panel that reviews applications submitted to Paul for nominations. Members of his staff also review applications and the academies make the final decision about who is admitted, he said before the event. The panel looks at things such as a student’s academic performance.

The process was once based more on personal connections with the nominating senator, but that isn’t the case anymore, Paul said.

Businesses like to hire people with the discipline instilled by the military and the service academies, he said.

“Really, these people, whether they stay in the military for a career or not, do become a lot of the leaders in our country,” he said.

Avery Yates, 17, of Paducah, attended the information fair to gather as much information as he could about the military academies, he said.

He has already applied to all five academies, Yates said.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the military, and college is a must,” he said.

His family’s history of service to the country dates back to an ancestor who was a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War, Yates said.

Lindsey Crister, 17, of Henderson, said she’s been looking to enter either the Coast Guard Academy or the Air Force Academy for several years. She likes the structure and standards they set.

The ROTC program at her high school has taught her a lot about leadership, she said.

“It’s just definitely a lifestyle that I want to live out of high school, I guess,” Crister said.

Election notes

Both legislators said before the event that they plan to help presidential nominee Mitt Romney win November’s election.

His speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., last week was more important than some speeches because the convention is an opportunity to describe the party’s vision of the country in contrast to the Democratic vision, Paul said.

“It’s a big deal when you get to speak to basically all the grassroots leaders of the Republican Party,” Paul said.

Paul said he will be involved in the presidential campaign for Romney when not voting in the Senate.

He has had a couple of requests to campaign, but so far nothing has been set up, he said.

Guthrie is good friends with Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, and thinks he makes a good addition to the Republican ticket, he said.

“I think he’ll do extremely well in the debates because he really understands what I think will make America grow and bring prosperity back to America,” Guthrie said.

He said he’ll be as much involved in the presidential election as he can with his own campaign to run this fall.