COEUR d'ALENE - Two best friends from Coeur d'Alene are on the path to glory.

Coeur d'Alene High School graduate Steve Price, 19, just completed his freshman, or "Plebe," year at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

"It definitely had its ups and downs," Price said. "It's a long freshman year for sure, but we like to say the days are long, the weeks add up and then it's already graduation day."

The USNA is a four-year military school that readies young men and women to become professional officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps.

The students are midshipmen on active duty in the Navy and graduate with Bachelor of Science degrees.

And not just anyone is admitted.

"It's pretty hard to get in," Price said Friday afternoon. He is one of about eight Idahoans enrolled in the USNA. He was home visiting friends and family for a few days, and spent some time catching up with his best friend Hudson Staub, 18, of Coeur d'Alene.

Staub, who is scheduled to graduate from CHS next month, was also accepted into the USNA, and begins his Plebe Year on I-day (Induction day) July 1.

"I am really excited about it," Staub said. "It's been a dream of mine since middle school."

Price and Staub have been good friends since the beginning of their middle school years and wrestled together for CHS. They both have strong interests in the military and flying, and have spent time experimenting with remote control aircraft. In March, Price declared his major to be aeronautical engineering, a career path Staub will also follow.

"I wanted to be able include my passion of flight with the opportunity to serve my country," Price said. "It's the best of both worlds."

Price said he was the only freshman to pass the Naval Academy Training Squadron (VT-NA) ground school, a rigorous program which includes Federal Aviation Administration and introductory flight screening. He had to pass multiple tests with a grade of 80 percent or higher.

"It was a relief to get through it," he said. "It's pretty high stakes. You're only allowed one failure."

When he came home on Christmas break, he took a private pilot exam. He intends to incorporate flying into his military career.

"I was raised having that passion to fly," he said, adding that his inspiration comes from his grandfather, who was a pilot, and spending time as a child watching seaplanes take off from Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Staub also has plans to get his pilot license. Although he is a year behind Price, Price said he is certain they will at least work and study together on the large USNA campus of more than 4,000 students.

"He'll definitely be in the labs when I'm in the labs," Price said. "When I'm working on my senior capstone project, he'll definitely be there helping me out."

Price and Staub had to complete many steps before being accepted, from proving scholastic excellence and physical fitness to receiving nominations from Idaho congressmen.

"There's a mound of probably 100 papers I'm still working through sitting on my desk," Staub said.

Staub and Price credit some of their military interest to their colleague Brett Burnside, a CHS graduate who will soon be graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Price said Burnside acted as a mentor and spoke with underclassmen at school about life at a military academy. Price recently found himself in the same position when he spoke with an interested group of CHS students about the academy and how to prepare for it. Price said he received correspondence from Burnside while he was early into his plebe year.

"It was nice to have someone checking in on me," Price said.

Price called the living situation on the USNA campus "the biggest dormitory in the world." Price and Staub may not see each other every day in a brigade of so many students, but just knowing the other is there is an exciting thought.

"It's one of the things that really appealed to me about the academy," Staub said. "That I'd have my best friend there to suffer through it with me."