Two at USAFA

Are there any posters here who have had 2 kids at USAFA at the same time? Curious to know what the experience has been from a family and sibling relationship dynamic.

This post is right up fencers alley. She not only had two at one time, but they are twins too!

Twins! Wow, fraternal or identical? Twins could make for confusion and many stories.

I don't know, but if I recall only a couple of yrs ago there were triplets at the AFA. I know that fencer's twins were not the only pair there, that every yr they have a couple of sets of twins.

Yrs ago, there was a poster who was a twin going to USMA with his identical brother, and he was a little over zealous with his remarks regarding how easy BCT was going to be. Some posters reminded him that it wouldn't be too hard to figure out who he was when he got there because there aren't that many identical Asian twins from NY!

All of the sudden he realized his poor brother who was not on the forums could be mistaken for him and feel the pain. Posters told him to make sure his brother wore a shirt that said it wasn't me, it was him!

In each of the last two years, there were identical twins sent from Kentucky. DS remarked at the appointee dinner that "USAFA must like twins". Having a sibling at USAFA seems somewhat common although we have no experience with it.

I have two at USAFA right now. One is a junior(daughter) and the other a freshman(son). We will see if child #3 follows in the class of 2018.
My cadets get along very well, but they have all along. I think for my freshman it is nice to have someone who knows the "ropes". That is not to say that my daughter gives him all the information he needs. She is very much into letting him find out things on his own. If he really needs help he searches her out. She will bring him outside food on occasion which is a nice treat for him. Their squadrons are fairly close to one another. My daughter can go and visit him when she wants pretty much, but it doesn't work the other way around yet for my son because he is a freshman.
For me it is nice, if we get the chance to visit(like PW) , we only have to go one place to see both the kids. Of course, their breaks are shorter, and I won't see both again until Christmas as DD is going elsewhere for Thanksgiving.
It is harder to spoil both of them, the funds only stretch so far. Now, I have to alternate who gets the care package and make sure it is stocked for both of them.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask and I will answer with my experiences.

One mother recently (August 2012) had both her sons (identical twins) dis-enrolled. This was was posted on the USAFA 2015 Parents Facebook page. Not sure what insight this might add to the "sibling relationship dynamic".

"Well, both my boys just got the boot. Neither were in the bottom 25% of their class, but were put up for hard ARCs and didn't make it. It is what it is. They were optimistic and upbeat til the end, and they are sad to be leaving."

What does "put up for hard ARCs" mean?

ARCs are the review committee for cadets on academic probation. They can vote to disenroll the cadet, or retain them on probation.
There are "soft" ARCs, in which the committee is going to retain the cadet, but still go through the review process.
"Hard ARCs" are where there is the real possibility of disenrollment.

Thanks for the insight Raimius.

raimius said:

ARCs are the review committee for cadets on academic probation. They can vote to disenroll the cadet, or retain them on probation.
There are "soft" ARCs, in which the committee is going to retain the cadet, but still go through the review process.
"Hard ARCs" are where there is the real possibility of disenrollment.

Click to expand...

Could you please elaborate on what the criteria is on who undergoes ARCs (soft/hard?) As the poster stated "the siblings weren't at the bottom 25% of their class and yet they got the boot". What are the specifics of being placed on probation that leads to these ARCs?
-Thanks

I can't help anyone on the ARC process, but boy howdy! I can talk reams about twins, identical, mirror image.

Their goal was to two-fold as high school seniors: Go to college together, and to go for FREE.

It really came down to the wire since one guy did not find out until the absolute last second, while the other son had gotten the LOA on their October birthday the year before. I can't remember now but I think their second choice was Notre Dame

In the class of 2012, three sets of twins graduated!

From my perspective, it was much easier as a mom having them together, from getting on that plane the day before I-Day, to graduation day, pinning on those bars, on the field at Falcon Stadium.

I think the hardest thing for them was that first summer, when USAFA did not seem to find any wisdom in having them have their leave at the same time, and it was the first time I ever heard each guy say, "I miss my bro."

Now that they are 2nd LTs, they live a continent apart though I believe they still talk frequently.

They did have fun when one was an element leader at BCT, and he was having his basics do what I think are called "superman drills" (change uniforms as fast as they are able.). Well, Twin A said, "OK Basics, time me! I'm telling you I can change in the blink of an eye!" So, Twin A in ABUs walked into a room, counted to 10, and then TwinB walked out all dressed up in Service Dress. Those basics 'bout fainted!!! All except one very perceptive female basic who said NO WAY! That was a good twin day!

They did have very many friends in common, and some friends who "belonged" just to one twin or the other.

Was difficult for us sometimes as parents because we made the commitment to pay for their transportation to and from home, books (4* year), and a few other expenses. As usual, almost everything was multiplied by two, so that $690 Thanksgiving plane fare got turned into almost $1400 in a blink.

There's another poster on this forum who currently has two C4Cs at the Academy, brother and sister, different ages. Look up "flyerdreamer" and she can give you some insight. She is also an Academy grad.

Well, you can have an adequate GPA by doing well in some classes while failing others. So not being in the lower 25% doesn't necessarily mean that you haven't flunked a required course, perhaps twice, or even a few required courses. These twins were in different classes, one 2015 and one 2014. Don't know the specifics on their dis-enrollments, however.

Thanks so much for all the information. We are a long way off from #2 getting an appointment. But #2 has a really strong application from academics to athletics to leadership so there is a chance that it might happen. They are very close too - virtually twins in many ways (often mistaken for twins). It sounds as if it has been successful for many others though. I appreciate the offers and I may indeed message some of you if an appointment actually happens.

We were fortunate enough to have a 2012 and a 2014 cadets at USAFA. I was very concerned that my younger son might be interested in the academy, or at least heavily influenced, because friends and family being so proud of his older brother for attending USAFA. I almost tried to talk him out of going at times, just to make sure it was something that HE wanted to do, not just following in his brothers footsteps because it seemed pretty cool from the outside looking in. I was happy that I couldn't talk him out of it!
As far as their experience, it was probably a benefit for the younger to have the insight of his brothers experience, along with a group of "adopted brothers" from his older brothers squadron. However there were some additional beating sessions from his older brother around recognition that I understand were pretty brutal.
I can say without a doubt that as a parent it was so much easier on the second "I" day, to drop off little bro knowing that he was going to be on the hill with his older brother. Not to mention having learned from the first two years, what an incredible institution the academy actually is.
I still have the picture from acceptance day, of my older son putting the shoulder boards on his little brother, as the wall paper on my phone. Proudest day of this dad's life....I did fail however to get a picture on graduation day of the first salute that the new 2nd LT received from his little brother.

jjdad. Many parents have the same concern on their child's motives. Did my child choose the air force academy because I'm retired air force? Did he choose it because it's basically a "Full Ride" college education? Did he really want to join.

Honestly; I was about 80+% sure it was totally what he wanted when he accepted the appointment. He turned down 3 other full ride scholarships and 1 50% ride. All to very prestigious schools. I wasn't 100% until AFTER he graduated from the academy. Now that he's officially gone from home, we packed up a lot of his stuff from growing up. He still has a place to come visit, but a lot of the things he grew up with are boxed. In this box of stuff, we found a "Short Story Book" he wrote for a 6th grade assignment in elementary school. It was a couple months after "9-11". He spoke of how his "Mommy and Daddy" told him if he worked hard enough, he could get into any college he wanted. But he said that he realized how great our country was, and that after the terrorists attacked the world trade center in New York, that he wanted to join the military by attending the air force academy and becoming officer. This way he could pay back his country by helping make sure no one attacked us again like they did on 9-11. Not bad for an 11 year old kid. I assume the air force vs navy/army/coasties/merchants was in part to me doing air force for more than 20; but the reason for serving at all I believe was all his doing.

So, whether you have twins or more than one child at the academy, it's most important to realize that each child/cadet is their for their own reasons. We have to make sure we don't compare our children. That we treat them as individuals with their own challenges and accomplishments. And while it's possible that one child/cadet joined because of what their older brother/sister may have done, and or the reaction of others towards them, the reason why isn't important. What's important is that you support their decision. I'm in my 50's and I've made quite a few bad decisions in my life. And I'll probably make some more. If your child/cadet is there for the wrong reason or it's not really what they wanted, they'll figure it out. They'll either put up with it, graduate, do their minimum time and move on; or they'll drop out. Either way, support them. If it's really what they wanted, they'll try their best at following that dream. Maybe they'll succeed and maybe they'll realize that even though they always wanted it, it's not what they thought it would be and it's not for them. There isn't one applicant/cadet who was 100% positive of what they were getting into.