Member Link Up Any Air Force Academy Grads Out There?

[Center Mass]

My daughter is about to start her freshman year of high school and her #1 goal is to go to the USAFA. We spent nearly two hours with her guidance councilor today and she was very helpful and very eager to help my daughter along her way. One thing that caught my attention is that this councilor has never had a student apply to the AFA. To West Point, but not to the AFA. She also divulged that Air Force recruiters in our area are few and far between and often difficult to get a hold of. I am the type of guy that when there is something VERY important that is outside of my knowledge base, I will kick every bush and pull out all the stops to find the information I'm looking for.

My daughter is also very active in our local Civil Air Patrol squadron and just loves it. While CAP has a lot of great resources, I thought it would really awesome to find someone who had acutally been there and graduated from the AFA. We know we are off to a great start but having a bit of guidance as to where to focus, what may give her a leg up and just general questions would be a huge help.

Thanks in advance,
CM

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Post deleted and taken to direct message to OP. Don't want to turn this into a negative thread out of respect for the OP.

 

[91Eunozs]

‘88 AFA grad…

The process is almost identical between the three Service Academies(Coast Guard is different). They’ll have a liaison officer that services your area who will do a pre-screening once she applies. And unless you or her mom is a Medal of Honor recipient, she’ll also need a Congressional or Presidential appointment; that’s usually the toughest part.

Took me several rounds of competitive screenings and interviews to get that appointment, but I was down in Florida on the Gulf Coast, so the pool of candidates was much, much larger too.

And with respect, I vigorously disagree with @Jefe's Dope assessment. There have been issues like with any other place where there’s a co-ed system, but as far as I can tell that was rectified with great prejudice against the perps. My biggest issue, and why I stopped donating to the alumni association, was the crazy woke/DEI admission and scholarship policies that were getting out of control.

That too seems to have been reversed…thank God…but I’m not ready to return to the fold just yet.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Not my assessment. Just what was shared with me. I've deleted my post for the reasons I posted above.

 

[91Eunozs]

Yeah, a lack or accountability, paired with lowered standards can lead to a shit show anywhere… The military, and by extension the Service Academies are just a cross section of the general population, so all the woes and ills present in our society will also manifest there…hopefully to a lesser degree, but everything (and anything) will be magnified through the lens of public scrutiny and political oversight.

The social experimentation and policy whiplash that started under Clinton, and got progressively worse under all administrations since, made it something it never supposed to be though. I almost couldn’t recognize the place, nor the behaviors of the cadets I saw when I went back for my 30th reunion several years ago. A different environment than I grew up in for sure.

I still respect the education I received there though, and my military career led me into a life I couldn’t have imagined growing up… So all things considered, I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend USAFA, and would even go so far as to say I’m happy to have gone there.

Not sure I’d do it again, but am certainly better off for the experience.

————-

Edit: And if she wants to fly jets, including a fast track to the airlines, there’s no better path to reach that goal…very, very competitive processes to get on that path though, including after she’s at the Academy. Gotta start somewhere though!

 

[Center Mass]

@91Eunozs Thanks for replying and sharing your experience. Although you graduated a while back, I'm sure much of it still applies. We were kind of hoping to find a mentor to help guide her decision making througout high school, not just an ALO once the application process starts. The congressional letter is defineatly a concen we have but we live in central PA where it's less urban (not quite the sticks) and will hopefully be less competitive for those letters.

She has been goal oriented for astronautical/aeronautical engineering for a while now because she has an interest in working for NASA. We just recently took her on an orientation flight which she really enjoyed so being a pilot might be on her radar as well now.

I too have been concerned about the DEI games being played practically everywhere these days, but with the new administration a feel a lot better. It seems like DEI is being purged from hopefully all of the military, and if the academy does become merit bases, my daughter will have an above average chance of being successful.

CM

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Private pilot licence will probably make her more competitive if that's what she wants. It shows they are not only serious but can pass the requirements and test.

As a former service member I would never let my daughter join the military, in any branch for any reason. If she is that smart/dedicated there are way better paths to success with lower risk ( use your imagination). NASA is full of gays , Muslims and retards. It's not 1960 anymore. Contractors do all the actual work ( what little real work there is) and the agency is a black hole. My uncle is a senior satellite operations engineer for them and NOAA. He hates his job, the people he works with and the politics. Only the gov can ruin something as fun as space. You might want to have a serious conversation about what her career path could look like. Plus she is 14, her mind will change 10 times before she decides on a school. I wouldn't get to narrow focused yet.

 

[Maggot]

My daughter is about to start her freshman year of high school and her #1 goal is to go to the USAFA. We spent nearly two hours with her guidance councilor today and she was very helpful and very eager to help my daughter along her way. One thing that caught my attention is that this councilor has never had a student apply to the AFA. To West Point, but not to the AFA. She also divulged that Air Force recruiters in our area are few and far between and often difficult to get a hold of. I am the type of guy that when there is something VERY important that is outside of my knowledge base, I will kick every bush and pull out all the stops to find the information I'm looking for.

My daughter is also very active in our local Civil Air Patrol squadron and just loves it. While CAP has a lot of great resources, I thought it would really awesome to find someone who had acutally been there and graduated from the AFA. We know we are off to a great start but having a bit of guidance as to where to focus, what may give her a leg up and just general questions would be a huge help.

Thanks in advance,
CM

Two comments.
-Congratulations to you for a motivated daughter
-Congratulations to her on having high aspirations and good luck.

I under stand pro active. If she were my girl I'd start noodeling, sucking up to, my congressmen and senators now, have them all buttered up in 4 years.

I didnt go to a service academy but I did go to a highly ranked university. Grades will be key, but almost equal will be extra curricular activities. Science clubs, math clubs, fitness activities. Then personal recommendations and she will likely have to write an essay about herself or something close to her. As mentioned above, a pilots license, the higher the ratings the better, shows skill and motivation.

She'll do fine, pop.

 

[Baron23]

My daughter is about to start her freshman year of high school and her #1 goal is to go to the USAFA. We spent nearly two hours with her guidance councilor today and she was very helpful and very eager to help my daughter along her way. One thing that caught my attention is that this councilor has never had a student apply to the AFA. To West Point, but not to the AFA. She also divulged that Air Force recruiters in our area are few and far between and often difficult to get a hold of. I am the type of guy that when there is something VERY important that is outside of my knowledge base, I will kick every bush and pull out all the stops to find the information I'm looking for.

My daughter is also very active in our local Civil Air Patrol squadron and just loves it. While CAP has a lot of great resources, I thought it would really awesome to find someone who had acutally been there and graduated from the AFA. We know we are off to a great start but having a bit of guidance as to where to focus, what may give her a leg up and just general questions would be a huge help.

Thanks in advance,
CM

While a service academy education, and the regular commission that is earned, are very valuable, if she doesn't get in there are the alternatives of OCS or ROTC.

I was ROTC out of Embry-Riddle and was then offered a regular commission based on my performance. It can be done.

And USAF has the absolutely coolest toys, bar none. Yeah, driving a nuc attack sub is probably very cool....but an F-22 or 35 is to my mind way cooler.

Best of luck to her.

 

[Maggot]

Private pilot licence will probably make her more competitive if that's what she wants. It shows they are not only serious but can pass the requirements and test.

As a former service member I would never let my daughter join the military, in any branch for any reason. If she is that smart/dedicated there are way better paths to success with lower risk ( use your imagination). NASA is full of gays , Muslims and retards. It's not 1960 anymore. Contractors do all the actual work ( what little real work there is) and the agency is a black hole. My uncle is a senior satellite operations engineer for them and NOAA. He hates his job, the people he works with and the politics. Only the gov can ruin something as fun as space. You might want to have a serious conversation about what her career path could look like. Plus she is 14, her mind will change 10 times before she decides on a school. I wouldn't get to narrow focused yet.

Where else might she get the chance to fly a Raptor or F 35?

 

[Gemsbok]

We've been through the application process very recently.

Why does she want to go to the Academy? Be sure her genuine answer is one of the right answers.
Start early - have a backup plan.
Look at the degrees/majors offered and then pick and aim for those (hundreds of engineering graduates vs. four history majors).

The following criteria are evaluated during the application process (This is her do-list right now):

Strong academic grades in engineering prep courses (STEM classes including chem physics calculus).​

Demonstrated athletic ability (competition, not recreation, and there is a physical test).​

Leadership experience ("plays lacrosse" is not as valuable as "team captain", ditto school STEM organizations and scouting. Graduates are officers not enlisted).​

Build high quality authoritative and academic references.
Practice congressional nomination interview skills. The interview panel will be several grownups.
All branches fly. Apply for all possible nominations. Apply for all possible appointments.

"Nomination" (@Center Mass you call this Letters) and "Appointment" (accepted to the school) are two separate sequential events but the applying for them are parallel formal processes that need to be undertaken at the same time. Follow the process.
Attend as much orientation/open house stuff as you can. Attendance can matter, but sometimes doesn't.
Read the forums. https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php
Watch the you tube videos (my favorite guy was an administrator at Navy but his channel seems to have disappeared).
Figure out the obvious disqualifiers and don't do them or let them happen.

Getting into a US military academy is a lot like getting hunting tags, you can't draw if you don't apply.
If you apply for more critters, you are more likely to get a license. Apply for every possible nomination.
If you apply for more states, you are more likely to get a license. Apply to more academies than just USAF. (I know two kids that got nominated to West Point, but provisional appointments to Navy).
Draw odds are about the same, too. Preference points are based on qualifications.
If you don't draw a limited entry tag, grab an over the counter tag. Apply for ROTC scholarship at the back up school, the reapply to the Academy.

On the politics side...If the right people quit the military only the wrong people will be left to run it. In a revolution, the military side always wins. There's cultural wackiness in almost all post secondary education, much less so at the Academies.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Where else might she get the chance to fly a Raptor or F 35?

Working for Lockheed or Boeing.

Less chance of getting a train run on her on deployments/training or getting shot down and her head chopped off on TV for the world to see. Also a broken body by the time you are 30. The military , especially the combat side is not the place for women (That includes flying combat AC). Those there generally are either delusional dykes or have little other opportunities in life. Almost every woman I ever served with is fucked up in the head. From Privates to Field and Flag officers.

Most women post service would have chosen a different path if they could. VA claims for them is insane. Its a meat grinder, but for women they get it especially harsh. Their bodies are not built for it, either are their minds.

You cant make your kids do what you want but as a Father its your job to inform them and let them know the REAL risks and after effects of that life.

 

[ggmanning]

If her end goal is commercial jet piot....and it may not be her goal. Embry Riddle in Fla is a very good choice. I know 2 folks who went there and were in commercial airline cockpits pretty quickly after graduating. Both did short stints with UPS or Fedex and were in passenger airlines in a few years. I think both were aided by the Covid exodus of piolts but still they graduate ready to go with a bunch of hours.

 

[Maggot]

Working for Lockheed or Boeing.

Less chance of getting a train run on her on deployments/training or getting shot down and her head chopped off on TV for the world to see. Also a broken body by the time you are 30. The military , especially the combat side is not the place for women (That includes flying combat AC). Those there generally are either delusional dykes or have little other opportunities in life. Almost every woman I ever served with is fucked up in the head. From Privates to Field and Flag officers.

Most women post service would have chosen a different path if they could. VA claims for them is insane. Its a meat grinder, but for women they get it especially harsh. Their bodies are not built for it, either are their minds.

You cant make your kids do what you want but as a Father its your job to inform them and let them know the REAL risks and after effects of that life.

As I have not BTDT I can only accept what you say at face value. The one or two I've known a bit seemed ok, but that the limit of my experience. Her dad should read your post.

I'd guess if her heart is set on AFA she doesnt want to fly commercial airliners, she wants to rock and roll. CAnt say as I blame her, if I had it all to do over....but I'm a man.

 

[jthor]

Not a USAFA grad, enlisted. As mentioned by @Baron23 there is the ROTC route if the USAFA route fails. Another route is also enlisting and then applying for USAFA via the lead program. It might not be called that anymore, but that route still exists.

USAFA commissions both USAF and USSF officers nowadays. So both are options if interests change.

I went to weapons school at Nellis with female pilots who flew F-22s through B-2s all more than capable of fulfilling their mission.

 

[Baron23]

Not a USAFA grad, enlisted. As mentioned by @Baron23 there is the ROTC route if the USAFA route fails. Another route is also enlisting and then applying for USAFA via the lead program. It might not be called that anymore, but that route still exists.

USAFA commissions both USAF and USSF officers nowadays. So both are options if interests change.

I went to weapons school at Nellis with female pilots who flew F-22s through B-2s all more than capable of fulfilling their mission.

Some of the best officers I served with were bootstrapped prior enlisted (that's what it was called in the ancient times when I served! haha).

Very good point.

 

[chevy_man]

I know one. She and her family wrote a bunch of letters to our congressman to get an interview.

The hard part is the competition. If you're not over a 4.0 with AP classes, you're already at the bottom.
She had a 4.25 GPA, lots of volunteer work, and still had to work her ass off to get in and maintain a good grade.

 

[jthor]

Some of the best officers I served with were bootstrapped prior enlisted (that's what it was called in the ancient times when I served! haha).

Very good point.

Bootstrap when I came in was they would let you out to finish the last few years of your degree while getting E5 pay or just BAH, can't remember; then commission afterwards. Still something similar to that, but LEAD took you from active duty to USAFA. Most of the time those folks went to the prep school, then USAFA. Looks like it's still called LEAD too.

https://www.academyadmissions.com/prepare/enlisted/

 

[Baron23]

Bootstrap when I came in was they would let you out to finish the last few years of your degree while getting E5 pay or just BAH, can't remember; then commission afterwards. Still something similar to that, but LEAD took you from active duty to USAFA. Most of the time those folks went to the prep school, then USAFA. Looks like it's still called LEAD too.

https://www.academyadmissions.com/prepare/enlisted/

Ah...got it. Yeah, bootstrap was exactly as you described and I don't think the LEAD process was in place when I was serving (a geological era ago lol)

 

[JJMoody]

another route to the academies is being really good in sports and pretty good in school. In high school, I really had no idea what the academies were all about or the process involved in getting in. Still had an opportunity to sign with the Naval academy, that I turned down ( maybe stupid, maybe not). My sister was similarly gifted in athletics and academics, but was on the track team at West Point and graduated there. I’m not sure it was an overall good thing for her.

 

[cas6969]

Yeah, a lack or accountability, paired with lowered standards can lead to a shit show anywhere…

Anecdotal but.. I interact, briefly with a bunch of West Point cadets every summer and have for the last 18 years. I've noticed a change in them the last 5-10 years, they way they carry themselves and their interactions with me and others. That could be system wide, or it could be compartmentalized and the product the relevant cadre.

However... I interact with regular college students every day and have for the last 30+ years. Today they're dumber, more helpless, more useless, more self centered, more entitled than anything I've ever seen before to the power of 10.

So is it academia or society in general? I'd have to think even the worst military academy would be better than most any other university.