*Parents* attending I-day? A-day? Parent's Weekend?

mom2015hopeful

5-Year Member
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Aug 30, 2010
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Just trying to get a feel for parent participation. I would love to attend all three...but will probably only be attending Parent's Weekend.
 
Obviously, I won't be there for "I-day or A-Day"; my son is getting ready to be a C1C "Firstie". However; this is a good time to make a shoutout for parent's weekend.

Part of Parent's weekend is the Saturday Afternoon Football Game. It's mandatory for all cadets. It's the opening season game on September 3rd. You parents will enjoy it, as well as your kids if they're with you. I recommend getting tickets sooner than later. Because of parent's weekend, they do sell out. Then, there's parents/siblings/etc... who wind up going down town or whatever during the game, because they didn't have a ticket, and their cadet has to be at the game. The game is also a great place to hang with many of the other parents that you met here on the forum. Plus, you can hang out with your cadet a good portion also. After the game, everyone is free to go.

Also; prior to the game, for about 2-3 hours, Tailgates are running at full-force. Each of your cadet's squadrons will be having a tail-gate. Plus, the greatest tail-gate, west of the Mississippi (THUDGATE) will be having their season opener. That's where you'll have a chance to meet many of the others on this forum and from other contacts. "More details about thudgate later in the summer"

Point is; a lot of people forget about the football game on Parent's weekend. You go with your cadets to classes on friday. On saturday, there's the football game. Maybe you don't want to be there. That's cool. But many parents don't realize that basically, all day saturday, until the football game is over, your cadet is going to be at the stadium. If you buy football tickets, you can enjoy most of that time with them. plus, you'll get to see all the cadets marching onto the field prior to the game; a great flyover of excellent planes; and a lot of great military company. Keep it in mind. later... mind....
 
Obviously, I won't be there for "I-day or A-Day"; my son is getting ready to be a C1C "Firstie". However; this is a good time to make a shoutout for parent's weekend.

Part of Parent's weekend is the Saturday Afternoon Football Game. It's mandatory for all cadets. It's the opening season game on September 3rd. You parents will enjoy it, as well as your kids if they're with you. I recommend getting tickets sooner than later. Because of parent's weekend, they do sell out. Then, there's parents/siblings/etc... who wind up going down town or whatever during the game, because they didn't have a ticket, and their cadet has to be at the game. The game is also a great place to hang with many of the other parents that you met here on the forum. Plus, you can hang out with your cadet a good portion also. After the game, everyone is free to go.

Also; prior to the game, for about 2-3 hours, Tailgates are running at full-force. Each of your cadet's squadrons will be having a tail-gate. Plus, the greatest tail-gate, west of the Mississippi (THUDGATE) will be having their season opener. That's where you'll have a chance to meet many of the others on this forum and from other contacts. "More details about thudgate later in the summer"

Point is; a lot of people forget about the football game on Parent's weekend. You go with your cadets to classes on friday. On saturday, there's the football game. Maybe you don't want to be there. That's cool. But many parents don't realize that basically, all day saturday, until the football game is over, your cadet is going to be at the stadium. If you buy football tickets, you can enjoy most of that time with them. plus, you'll get to see all the cadets marching onto the field prior to the game; a great flyover of excellent planes; and a lot of great military company. Keep it in mind. later... mind....

Thanks for the info about the game. Question though, no discounts on the tickets for the parents? Is the deal just pay full price over the internet?
 
The first game of the season some parents club get a block of tickets and you can purchase thru them which helps the club too. Last year I had 25 yd line tickets for $25.00 or something like that.You have to take in a Army or Navy game there is nothing like it (Army is here this year). Please remmber you are at altitude and you will dry out quickly. Chapstick ,chapstick, that stadium and sun will take it out of you and hydrate even when you think you do not need too.:biggrin: Acceptance was more impulsive but we were glad we went, even though it was just a few hours. Based on prices compared to most other D 1 schools I think full price is a discount. Trying to be of help
 
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The first game of the season some parents club get a block of tickets and you can purchase thru them which helps the club too. Last year I had 25 yd line tickets for $25.00 or something like that.You have to take in a Army or Navy game there is nothing like it (Army is here this year). Please remmber you are at altitude and you will dry out quickly. Chapstick ,chapstick, that stadium and sun will take it out of you and hydrate even when you think you do not need too.:biggrin: Acceptance was more impulsive but we were glad we went, even though it was just a few hours. Based on prices compared to most other D 1 schools I think full price is a discount. Trying to be of help

well, 25$ is amazing and we'd all love to hear how that happend. Keep getting all those you can. Cheapest I see on the net is $50/$60 for the 'nose bleed' upper section and most sections are well over $100 and some above $200. There is a promotional code field to take advantage of some kind of discount and I was just wondering if parents were going to get a promotional code at some point to use.
 
We're definitely heading out for I Day (going a few days early to have some family time), one of us will probably go for A Day, and we already have plans for Parents Weekend. My credit card is still hot from all the reservations! :yllol: And I haven't even thought about football tickets yet! :eek: The money we had saved for his college will now go for flights and hotels! We'll be racking up some frequent flyer miles! It will all be worth it though.
 
I just wanted to put this here It is a little more complicated than this forum but it has A LOT of parents.
 
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well, 25$ is amazing and we'd all love to hear how that happend. Keep getting all those you can. Cheapest I see on the net is $50/$60 for the 'nose bleed' upper section and most sections are well over $100 and some above $200. There is a promotional code field to take advantage of some kind of discount and I was just wondering if parents were going to get a promotional code at some point to use.

You sure you're not looking at SEASON TICKETS!!! I have probably the best seats in the house. 50 yard line. Part of the 50 yard club. And my tickets are $275 for the ENTIRE SEASON!!!. There are endzone tickets for $75 for the ENTIRE SEASON TICKETS. I think the MOST EXPENSIVE individual game tickets available are $50.
 
Back to the original thread: We attended I-day, A-Day, Parents weekend, and the Navy game last year and, quite honestly, would do everything possible to do it the same all over again. Indeed, I would encourage all who can to make the effort to do so--if not for yourself for your cadet. However, it is obvious many folks simply cannot get away that often (despite the allure of frequent flier miles). If I was limited, the first date I would give up would be the game with the other service academy. The other three are really tough. I-day is the day, a line of demarcation, after which these young people will never be the same. So I would definately attend I day, although I think the numbers show only about half the cadets have parents/others with them. Parents weekend is also important, and probably the most popular for parents, but we found that we actually had little time with our cadet that weekend. So be prepared. I think A-day probably gets the least publicity, but I actually think that was the most moving day for us parents and our cadet. I will always remember his trepedation on I-day, but his overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment on A-day. So, drum roll please, my personal top four in order of importance would be: I-day, A-day, Parents weekend, and the Army game. I would again encourage you to make every effort to attend all....you and your cadet will not regret the sacrifice!!!
 
moznick; I just can't understand how you would put Parent's Weekend, behind "A-Day" in importance for attendance.

Yes, "A-Day" is very moving. You watch all the cadets come down the long walk from the cadet area to the parade ground. You can't tell who your cadet is. You watch them form up. They go through a ceremony and a pass in review. They then fall out. They get their shoulder boards pinned on by an upper classman. As a parent, this is all great and all, but you then get about 2 hours where you can spend time with your cadet. But you aren't allowed to go anywhere. Most parents who attend, bring a picnic lunch and you all find a piece of grass. After 2-3 hours, your cadet leaves. THE END!!!

Parent's weekend, I don't understand how you say you couldn't spend much time with your cadet??? It starts on Friday, and you go to all your cadet's classes with him/her. You do lunch together. Must squadrons have a Bar-b-que after classes are over. Most families hang out for a while with their cadets. The next day is the football game. You can hang out with your cadet during the tail-gates for about 2 hours. Then the game. After the game, your cadet is YOURS. They are free to leave until Monday Night. You can go off base and go any place you want to. Just be back by Monday at 7pm. I don't know what you mean by you didn't get to spend much time with them? Unless it was their/your choice.

Anyway; to each their own. If you can ONLY do 1 trip out there this year; my opinion is that Parent's Weekend is #1. You get to spend 2 full days and 2 half days with your cadet. I-Day would be next if you can do 2 trips. It's emotional and it helps. But there are some new trainees that really don't want their parents to come to I-day. That's something that's individual and each family has to decide that. A-Day is nice and all, but you really don't get to spend any time with them. Maybe 2 hours. That's if you're lucky, and they aren't scheduled to be doing something else. I saw a mom/dad come to A-Day. They literally got to hug their son after the parade and same all the "I love you and am proud of you" stuff; and literally the son said I love you too, but I have to go. He warned his parents that it could happen. They knew, but like most cadets, didn't think they'd have to worry. But it happens. A-day is nice, but that's definitely #3 on my list.

Anyway; to each their own. I was just a little confused that you said that you didn't get to spend much time with your cadet on parent's weekend. Except when they come home for thanksgiving, christmas, spring/summer break, those 4 days are the most you're going to see them. And they've been a cadet now for about a month. They've started classes. They have a different perspective now. Parent's weekend is definitely the one to go to. At least in my opinion.
 
You sure you're not looking at SEASON TICKETS!!! I have probably the best seats in the house. 50 yard line. Part of the 50 yard club. And my tickets are $275 for the ENTIRE SEASON!!!. There are endzone tickets for $75 for the ENTIRE SEASON TICKETS. I think the MOST EXPENSIVE individual game tickets available are $50.

Ha, you are probably right. I don't know. I just went to their web site and clicked football tickets and didn't get too far. Since then I've learned that our particular local parent club gets blocks of tickets for a couple of key games and that's surely where I'll end up getting mine. thanks and enjoy those great seats of yours!
 
Last year i could choose only one, and I went to Parents Week, it was great! One thing to note, most of the official events for parents week start Friday morning, but if your DS/DD is an IC athlete you can usually attend their practice Thursday afternoon. I had read that on this forum, booked my ticket accordingly just in case, and was so glad I did! He didn't have one of his afternoon classes, so I got to be with him from 1:00pm until practice, and then I got to go watch him practice. Now it may not work for all IC's but hey, its worth flying in the day before just in case.
And the THUDGATE tailgate was awesome! There's a tradition of toasting Jeramiah Weed that I'm sure Christcorp will get around to explaining. Its awful stuff, but the sanctity of the moment makes it taste like honey! It was great meeting folks from the forum.
 
Question about Acceptance Day. It sounds like the time a parent has with their cadet is very short--a couple of hours. Is it possible to bring things that he or she may need now that BCT will be over? I guess I was thinking of things like a printer, iron, underwear (I hear that will be an impt one!), snacks, many things really. Will it be possible to take those things to the cadet's room or is he going to get stuck carrying anything around for a while until they're allowed to go to the dorms? If not, I guess shipping things out could be an option. Thoughts anyone?
 
You're not going to be able to go to their room. Not until parent's weekend. As for bringing them things, each squadron is different. Most of what you mentioned, you can bring him/her. It's up to the individual squadron if they'll allow the printer right away. Most times, that's a yes. If you can be in contact with your cadet after BCT and prior to "A-Day", they should be able to tell you what they can have at that time. If you're driving there, you can always load the car with the things s/he may need/want, and let them take what they can when you get there. But you will, at the most, only have a couple hours with your cadet.
 
As with everything at the academy, it is all different depending on the squadron and your cadet.
I agree that Parent's weekend is the first priority if you can't make A day and I day.

But after Parent's weekend, I would go with A day if I could only do 2. I thought that I day was heart-wrenching and incredibly hard on me as a mom. The dad in our family was actually the one who was crying so it was hard on him also. I think it did help my son, but I am not really sure.

On A day--we did get to go to our son's room. After the parade we were allowed to stay on base for about 3 hours. It was great! We got to go up to his room, meet his roommates and squadmates, go to the bookstore with him. Also, some of the parents from his basic flight did a famous daves bbq at the field house. We had a room at the field house and famous daves bought lunch. Most of the cadets in their flight (and the parents who came about 25% of the flight) got to have a great lunch and mingle for a bit. After being so sad on I day, it was really joyous and exciting.

We were also lucky that last year doolie day out was two days after A day. Our son's sponsor family was a friend of a friend and we had talked to them beforehand. The sponsor dad and son were both usafa graduates and knew that we would want to spend time with our son and that they would have 4 years to get to know him. So they picked our son up for doolie day out. We went to their house for breakfast with our son, took our son back to our hotel for the whole day (where he slept and relaxed and we all went to a movie) and then back to the sponsor's house for dinner. It was wonderful to get to see him and also finally meet the sponsor family too!
 
Question about Acceptance Day. It sounds like the time a parent has with their cadet is very short--a couple of hours. Is it possible to bring things that he or she may need now that BCT will be over? I guess I was thinking of things like a printer, iron, underwear (I hear that will be an impt one!), snacks, many things really. Will it be possible to take those things to the cadet's room or is he going to get stuck carrying anything around for a while until they're allowed to go to the dorms? If not, I guess shipping things out could be an option. Thoughts anyone?

A Day... we arrivedthe day before and communicated thru short e-mailnotes. We then went shopping for food (costco) as he would have some cadets with him whos' parents could not come, he wanted chick filet so I made arrangements with the store that evening to pick up several sandwiches early the next morning.
Wednesday was the parade and pinning boards we brought cell phones and an extra one so cadets could call parents or girl friends etc; We had parked by the Clune area and ate out in the parking lot. We had many leftovers cakes, water, snacks. We took them back to the sqaudron to share(left at CQ desk) and he kept some of the snacks and visited in his room for 30 to 45 minutes( yes we did bring his undrwear) and on that note they will want a watch around that time(recommend G Shock watches). You have to be escorted and we were off the hill around 1330 hrs if I remmber correctly. Hope this helps you have a little better undrstanding. He would have use of phone on weekends most of the time but not full use until after parents weekend.
 
You're not going to be able to go to their room. Not until parent's weekend. As for bringing them things, each squadron is different. Most of what you mentioned, you can bring him/her. It's up to the individual squadron if they'll allow the printer right away. Most times, that's a yes. If you can be in contact with your cadet after BCT and prior to "A-Day", they should be able to tell you what they can have at that time. If you're driving there, you can always load the car with the things s/he may need/want, and let them take what they can when you get there. But you will, at the most, only have a couple hours with your cadet.

We were able to visit our cadet's room on A-day, and indeed took all the items he had requested such as printer, underwear, alarm clock, and many other things. We had kept an ongoing list during BCT, and then I added some things that I thought or and/or picked up from the various websites.

My advice is to go to any and all things that you can - it gives you a better idea of where your cadet is living, and knowing their surroundings helps you appreciate what they go through on a daily basis much more. All the events are very different - each has its own special qualities and things that make it special, and each kid reacts to each one differently.
 
And that again is something you're going to find out about the academy. Every squadron and just about every year is different. When we were there for "A-day" 3 years ago, we parked by the chapel parking lot and my son and his friends carried some of the things we brought for him, to his room.

"A-Day" is about the most unpredictable of all times to see your cadet. I always suggest to parents:

1. Assume you are there to just see your son/daughter's class do their parade and become cadets. Don't ASSUME you'll spend any more time than a quick hug and an "I love you and am proud of you". Because believe it or not, that is EXACTLY what happens to some parents/cadets. If you can get more time than that, fantastic. Just don't count on it; think "It's not fair" if you don't; or think you should be allowed.
2. In line with number 1, assume that if you do get to spend time with your son/daughter, that it's right there at the parade field/field house area. Don't assume that you'll have time to do anything else. If you can; great. Just don't expect it.
3. If you're driving, bring all the things you think, or your cadet says/thinks they want. By the time "A-day" arrives, they will know exactly what they can and can't have. Be prepared to have to Mail everything at or after parent's weekend. If you're flying in for "A-Day", don't try and bring printers and such. Bring stuff that you can put in luggage. Matter of fact, if you know you'll be there for Parent's weekend, we took our cadet out on a shoppy spree. Bought his printer, larger monitor, and all the things they said he could have. This way we didn't have to carry or mail it. Your cadet will have about 3 days of computer use PRIOR to "A-Day". Communicate with him/her via emails.
 
I-Day: I suggest you ask your doolie to be if they want you to go. Our daughter prefered to make the break at the local airport. She used the travel time to mentally prepare. She was picked up by her sponsor family (which made it more bearable for us and her more confident and we were very fortunate to have a sponsor early). This little time before hand helped her bond without her having to worry about us.

A Day: Travel expense was a concern and we chose not to attend A day due to the limited time available. I believe it was about 50/50 as as far as parents atteding A day, I could be off a little bit but your child won't feel like an odd ball if you are not there. More than likely they will get adopted for the couple of hours by another family of one of their squad mates. Either way it works out fine.

Parents Weekend: Go.

That is my humble experience.
 
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