And thank you VERY much for your service, but yeah, there is no charge for tuition, room, board, books.
Think you missed the point. After graduation you spend 5 years minimum serving. During this time you get minimum pay. Academy grads are high in the starting salary rankings because they have at least 5 years experience when they get a civilian job.
You are incorrect. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, not only is a student debt free, but their starting salary is about $57,600 with about $20,000 of that being a Housing Allowance which is federal tax free. So, they basically START on DAY 1 after graduation making over 60K a year. Hardly "minimum" pay.
Here is the link regarding starting salaries (and you will also note that this does not count bonus for nuclear and the chart shows the quick jump in salaries beyond the great starting pay):
