Murphy Police Chief Tim Lominac said his son Cody was a Division 1 athletic prospect until that day during his sophomore year in high school that nearly killed him, but cleared a path in a different direction – as a U.S. Army officer.
Cody Lominac is a member of the U.S. Military Academy’s Class of 2024 and wears the shiny gold bars of a second lieutenant and the prized class ring of a West Point graduate. His next stop is U.S. Army Field Artillery School.
Getting an academy appointment is complicated, and in most cases requires a congressional nomination. For most academies, only one in 10 applicants get accepted. Lominac was nominated to three academies – twice.
However, Lominac had another burden that could have tipped the scales against him.
He had just turned 16, a sophomore in high school, when his Volkswagen Passat collided at 55 mph with a Cadillac Escalade in the Nantahala Gorge. The three people in the Escalade were uninjured, but his car went airborne and landed in a ditch. His leg was in his lap, and blood was everywhere.
A couple who rushed to his aid saw a terrible sight – a broken femur protruding from his leg, a broken ankle, a broken nose, in and out of consciousness. They got him out of the car and laid him on the ground, thinking he was dying. The wife prayed for him.
Emergency vehicles were hampered by a long traffic jam in both directions on the two-lane highway through the gorge.
Lominac had one lucky break – a rescue squad was practicing underwater rescues nearby. They were within reach. They stabilized him, then transported him to a helicopter that landed down the road.
“I woke up at the hospital,” he said. “I looked down and saw my right leg was crooked. I tried to move it and passed out from the pain.”
Lominac was bed-bound for a month after the accident. He still feels the aftermath of his injuries almost eight years later.
Lominac played three sports as a student at Smokey Mountain High School in Sylva – football, baseball and basketball – and was captain of the football and basketball teams.
Though severely injured, Lominac survived, but with no clear path forward.
He perseveres
Lominac’s father has served the public through his career in law enforcement. His son grew up wanting to serve like his dad (law enforcement), his grandfather (Navy, Korean War) and his great-grandfather (Army, World War II).
As a high school student, Lominac knew nothing about the U.S. military’s service academies. A teacher thought it would be a good opportunity and recommended he apply.
Then-U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows nominated Lominac to three academies – Military, Naval and Air Force – triggering a rigorous application process that Lominac’s mother, Shannon, helped him through.
“The whole family bought in,” Lominac said. That included his younger brother, Caleb, who plays football for Mars Hill University near Asheville, and his father.
The traffic accident in the gorge complicated things. West Point told Lominac that he would need a medical waiver, and he figured the Navy and Air Force would as well.
He had no backup plan. “I felt unproductive,” he said.
After Lominac graduated from Smokey Mountain High School, he got a job in the trades and thought about joining the Marines. Family conversations ensued.
Shannon the mom once again went to work. Research led her to Georgia Military College, a public military junior college in Milledgeville, Ga., that they hoped would rekindle Lominac’s chances at attending a service academy.
Georgia Military College reshaped the civilian high school graduate into a fledgling military officer.
“It was not your average college experience,” Lominac said. “We had to walk like an officer, talk like an officer, groom like an officer.”
He got back into shape and kept his focus on the future. “My parents instilled a culture of toughness and pride,” he said.
By March 2019, Lominac obtained a medical waiver and was fit for duty. Meadows renominated him, and he was waiting to hear back from the Naval Academy, where he participated in a familiarization program the summer before his senior year in high school. He was leaning in that direction.
But West Point accepted him first. He waited another two weeks for word from Annapolis, but with a letter in his hands and the clock ticking, he chose West Point.
The Naval Academy’s acceptance letter arrived too late.
Lominac’s four years at West Point were punctuated by COVID-19 – social distancing, masks, etc. – coupled with the normal life of a West Point cadet. The freshman year is when cadets are known as “plebes” and subject to near-Spartan rules of conduct and performance.
Plebes eat last and bus the dining tables. They clean bathrooms and perform other tasks, all under the supervision of stern and more senior cadets. They are subject to frequent and strict inspections. They can’t speak unless spoken to, even during meals. They are given 100 tasks with time to complete just 50. The plebe year is not pleasant.
As cadets progress, they get more responsibilities but also more perks. Lominac and his classmates spent their entire plebe year restricted to the post because of COVID-19.
“There was no getting away from it, no escape,” he said.
No nights off. No weekends off.
COVID restrictions softened by his sophomore year, and he was no longer a plebe. He even started playing football again, on the academy’s sprint football team – a full-contact, intercollegiate, varsity sport that has the same rules as regular college football, except that all players must weigh 178 pounds or less. He had to trim down from 210 pounds to make the team.
Though he first thought about playing rugby, sprint football was a great experience for him. His teammates were not the biggest or strongest cadets. Lominac described them as “humble.”
“Everyone was just friends. It was a good environment with great dudes,” he said.
Daily 2½-hour workouts were a respite for a young cadet for whom high school sports played such an important role, and refreshingly different from his first year at the academy.
A melting pot
U.S. military academies draw cadets from the entire nation. Four years together tends to soften regional differences including accents. Lominac went in with a western North Carolina accent, but left with almost no accent.
At the same time, cadets are surrounded by the nation’s cream of the crop.
“I had trouble adjusting to that caliber of environment,” Lominac said, describing the experience as “culture shock.”
Conversations were more global and were about things like Advanced Placement Literature, finance and strategies.
“I thought I was good, but they were on a different level,” he said.
As tends to happen, Lominac went from his insecure plebe year up through the years and ranks until his senior year, when he finished as a cadet lieutenant, conversing with his classmates about things like AP Lit, finance and strategies.
He started dating a fellow cadet his junior year. She was a senior. They’ve dated for two years, the last year long distance.
As graduation approached, he selected field artillery as his first choice and combat engineer as his second. He was looking for a role in the Army that would have the most impact.
He got his first choice, artillery – regarded as the “king of battle.”
Lominac was allowed 10 tickets at the graduation ceremony, and used them all between his parents, brother, aunts and uncles.
He and his girlfriend will be reunited. She is also an artillery officer.
Lominac said he is seriously considering an Army career.
“I enjoy the military lifestyle – the discipline, the schedule. It’s easy – do what you’re told,” he said. “Sitting around doing nothing drives me crazy.”
He’s been on leave since graduation, spending time with friends and family, hunting and fishing with his dad. Lominac reports to Basic Officer Leadership Course on July 18.
He feels he was given a second chance at life supported by his family, his coaches and his faith in God. He hopes to take his experience at overcoming severe obstacles and mentor other young people.
“I want to use my story to influence people forever,” Lominac said.
What are service academies?
U.S. military academies offer a world-class education that leads to a commission in the military. There are five academies:
- U.S. Military Academy (Army), West Point, NY. Also called West Point.
- U.S. Naval Academy (Navy and Marines), Annapolis, Md.
- U.S. Air Force Academy (Air Force and Space Force), Colorado Springs, Colo.
- U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (U.S. Merchant Marines, Navy Reserve, transportation industry), Kings Point, N.Y.
- U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Coast Guard), New London, Conn.
Upon graduation, cadets become second lieutenants or ensigns and must serve a minimum term of duty. If the student’s chosen occupation requires extensive training, the tour of duty may be longer.
An academy graduate can expect a fulfilling military career, if they choose, but academy graduates are prized in the civilian world.
