Class of 2015 Inprocessing

KarenStruzik

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
8
Good evening everyone,
As we anxiously approach the great day, I am a bit uncertain of all that happens. I am hoping someone could guide me on more of the time frame.
We are flying in the day before (wed 22nd).

Im assuming she needs to be there the morning of the 23rd...We haven't gotten all the details yet. Does the ceremony occur all day on the 23rd. and does anything go on the 24th (fri)

We are uncertain with our flight arrangements..and thinking we should probably leave Sat instead of Friday...

I am sure her officer will be contacting her..but am very anxious to book our flights...If anyone had any info it would be great..and thank you!
 
there isnt a ceremony that goes on, on i-day. its just a lot of running around and shots, clothing issue, etc. but on the 24th the class of 2015 will be sworn in on the terrazzo. that is definitely something to be there for since you are already in town. hope this helps!
 
A couple of thoughts...

When reporting to Doolittle for I-day it's probably best not to be the first ones there, rather time it so you're in the middle of the pack. You'll encounter a line, but it'll be an opportunity to to meet those standing by you, and have a little more time together. The breakfast places along Academy will be crowded, so we headed south down I-25 where they weren't.

Once you son or daughter boards the bus, you can head up to the Chapel wall, where you'll meet a number of parents who all of a sudden you have a lot in common with, and get a glimpse of your Basic if you're persistent (bring binocs or camera with strong lens). This was a little bit of a "shock and awe" experience for us with no military background.

The swearing in ceremony the following morning is worth staying for but get there early. You'll be surprised how much they get accomplished in 24 hours. After that (~10 AM) I would suggest that it's time to go and make arrangements to fly out of DEN or COS by 1 or 2 PM.

Best of luck 2015. We're couldn't have imaged the ups and downs nor the opportunities our cadet would have, but it's been a great ride, and life is good on the other end.
 
Some more

Gasdoc has it right. We took our son to Doolittle Hall at about 8:30, which meant a few hundred were ahead of us and several hundred behind him. After parking the car in a large grass lot, we were guided to long line so our son could drop off his belongings, we then waited in another long line that eventually got us into Doolittle Hall. Just outside Doolittle, representatives of the AOG give a little pep talk to break the tension and keep the flow of people into Doolittle orderly. Once inside Doolittle, it's time to say goodbye. Parents and sons/daughters are hugging, wiping back tears, and then the son/daughter walks up a flight of stairs inside the building to begin inprocessing. A few minutes later they descend another set of stairs and exit the building. While waiting, we suddenly met General Gould who offered words of encouragment, and his wife assured my wife that it'd be okay to hug our son "one last time" as he came down the stairs. After exiting Doolittle, the students are then escorted in groups of about 40 to certain honorary locations adjacent to Doolittle Hall. After about 15 minutes, the students are led across a small foot bridge, retrieve their belongings and get in line for the buses. One by one the buses fill and slowly pull away. Parents are yelling encouragement and waving as students step onto the bus and disappear from sight. Everyone knows that as soon as the bus doors close, the proverbial organic matter hits the fan.
One important note: Make sure you find out the color of the lanyard of your son/daughters BCT squadron. It will be around their neck as they descend the stairs. (I think the colors were also posted somewhere near the souvenir stand.) Those lanyards are a big help in spotting your child in webguy pictures.
We bought some USAFA items from the stand in the parking lot and then attended the picnic at the nearby campground hosted by the Colorado Parents Club. Throughout the morning we met parents from every corner of the United States.
After the picnic, we drove to the Visitor Center (which was packed) and then walked to the Chapel Wall. From there you can see groups of cadets being led into Mitchell Hall for a bite to eat, they later exit and are escorted towards Sijan Hall (?). A short time later, smaller groups of 3 to 6 cadets are then escorted across the terrazzo in front of the Chapel Wall. By this time, they are in ABU's, carrying a duffle bag, wearing boots, and sporting fresh haircuts. Suddenly, they all look alike and you'll need to rely on parental instinct to recognize your son or daughter. (After watching for two hours, my wife said, there he is, "that's the way he walks".... and we then saw our son walk by. It was quite a sight.)
After seeing him walk by, we drove back to our hotel and spent a quiet evening. The next morning we got to the Chapel Wall by 7:30 and it was already lined shoulder to shoulder with folks waiting to watch the swearing in ceremony. At that point you can see the freshman class being trained in marching, saluting, etc and then lining up for a march onto the grass in front of the Chapel. By 9:00am, it was 3-4 people deep along the wall. Many had signs or balloons (good idea to let your son or daughter know ahead of time so they can spot you.) Make sure you have binoculars and pick a spot along the wall that matches up with your son's squadron location when they march in. Even with all of that, it will be very difficult to spot your son/daughter.
Swearing in lasts a few minutes and then the cadets march away.
We later flew out of DEN on a 2:00pm flight and had no problem getting there in time.
Bring: camera, binoculars, water bottle, sun screen, hat, sun glasses and enjoy one of the biggest events of your family's life.
Do: Join the AOG so you have access to the thousands of webguy pictures. Hundreds of pictures are posted daily during beast and many parents spend hours playing "where's waldo" in looking for pictures of their son/daughter. Again, this is where knowing the lanyard color is a big help.
 
Good evening everyone,
As we anxiously approach the great day, I am a bit uncertain of all that happens. I am hoping someone could guide me on more of the time frame.
We are flying in the day before (wed 22nd).

Im assuming she needs to be there the morning of the 23rd...We haven't gotten all the details yet. Does the ceremony occur all day on the 23rd. and does anything go on the 24th (fri)

We are uncertain with our flight arrangements..and thinking we should probably leave Sat instead of Friday...

I am sure her officer will be contacting her..but am very anxious to book our flights...If anyone had any info it would be great..and thank you!

I agree with the above post.Are you purchasing everyones plane ticket or will your appointee use the one from USAFA? (just curious) I would give myself as much time the day before that I could. We drove up to the academy the day before just to make sure we knew where everything was, Doolittle Hall, Chapel, visitors center. The next morning we arrived at Doolittle Hall at 0800 ( i have notes from that day) I can tell you from that time we and he went thru everything and he was on the bus at 0922 hrs. We did like gasdoc,mikeandcris and met parents at the colorado parents club ( you will have all this information in what is called "Cadets Parent Guide"). After spending lunch we drove up to the chapel and hung out, I can tell you it was 1445 hrs according to my notes when we saw our son running the stripes across the Tzo leading six others carrying their duffle bag. That means approximately 5 hours it took for him to process which involved lunch too(sandwich).
The reason I asked about plane tickets is because our son had USAFA tickets but we did call the airlines after we received them and changed them to fit our schedule with no extra cost. Good Luck and welcome to the ride and oh by the way it was june 29th when we saw the first pictures from webguy. The color of those lanyards can not be overstated.:thumb:
 
Best moment at the Chapel wall on I-day 2007 was a cadet who "signed" his mother "I love you" while at attention with hand at his side. Amazing pic with a high power lens, and not a dry eye among the crowd.
 
Mikeandcris explained I-day very well, while reading it brought back my emotions on that very day. Be prepared for your DS/DD to be very quiet and focus the night before, and also on the drive to the Academy the morning of I-day. I tried to lighten the mood while driving on base reading out loud the state car license plates. We had to giggle as no one knew which state we were from as we were driving a rental car! Do try to take some time in Doolittle hall checking out information for your cadet and yourself. If your cadet starts to look at the stairs let them go, they know what is in wait for them on the other side. My DS kept looking at them and that was our clue to say our good byes. You can mingle in Doolittle hall as long as you like. As others have said don't miss the next day for swearing in, we almost did until a parent at Doolittle told us about it. I am glad we didn't. After seeing my son take the oath and marching on the T-zao and off with his squadron I could not wait for his first letter. Mail them a letter right away as they will be able to check their mail around the third day of basic. It will mean a lot to them.
 
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