Footprints....

Does anyone know why a Basic would be moved to the back of the line after being "yelled" at by Cadre? We were watching the KAFA video of the Bus Ride to Footprints and had the pleasure of seeing our son in it. (Yes, it was very exciting!). He is a Preppie so he was a step ahead most Basics. Also, is there any significance to where they stand (row) when in formation? Any significance to what Flight they go in?

My understanding is that they line up by height with the tallest in the front. Not sure why they would move someone from the front to the back?

Haha, they do it for many reasons. Shirt too bright, feet too big, hair too blonde, too tall, too short, etc.

A shirt with a logo might have you waiting for the next bus, and a smile might have you there for several bus trips.

It's all a game designed to wake up the newbies who were parked on the couch three days ago sipping a Starbucks. Some have never been yelled at. Some doolies would feel left out if they weren't picked on (at least a little.)

^^^^^^ This

The theatrics when they get off the bus is just an attention getting step.

I spent a while watching the footprints last week. I got to see some interesting things, including some apparel choices which will probably be talked about for all of this next year. Suffice it to say that I was glad to be 5 stories up and 2 panes of glass away from the footprints this time around.

Can someone post a link to the video?

I hope this works

Yo Parents...

Concern yourselves NOT with ANYTHING that happens at BCT, from the bus ride to the __________. YOU are not at BCT. Your son or daughter will soon learn what is expected, accepted, rejected, and detected.

Be grateful for the view of your child, as s/he matures and faces this new challenge. And for parents of both prepsters and direct appointments, recall that your child is now officially and unofficially an adult.

I definitely feel that our son is an adult. A year at the Prep school not only prepared him but it also prepared me, his Mom. He's definitely more of a visitor "home". While that makes me a little sad, it is where we are in life. Our "babies" are growing up!

Haha! Being NOT concerned is so much easier said than done! Kind of comes with the territory after raising 'em for 18+ years, right?

But fencersmother has a point. Letting go will actually help you and your stress level. Oh, don't get me wrong, if you see your child in a blue belt, your heart will jump and your breath catch wondering what happened (minor if they're still out there - so take a deep breath! As my husband told me, "if they break 'em, they fix 'em")

Then summer is over and Parents Weekend is upon us. Your new "doolie" will want to sleep - a lot! And if you're really lucky, they may tell you a few stories about their trials during BCT.
So hang on 2020 parents - the ride is rocky but the results are worth it!

When at 1st BCT, the then-basic cadet whose occupying my avatar (for a few days) broke his nose playing some sport (not field ball or whatever it was called which my kids loved and is now gone because some people are weenies, but I digress). Not a minor break, and with tons of bleeding, he got sent to docs who wanted him to get x-rays, etc. Told son he could go to hospital and probably get a medical turnback since he would probably need surgery. Other options, asked son. Well, here's some ibuprofen and you can take the evening off. If you can function in the morning, you can stay.

Well, he slept (not) with that ice pack on his nose and lots of gauze and ibu... and the following day was awarded a Snickers bar for bravery and doggedness. Snickers. The favored reward.

His parents learned of this AFTER BCT. He never did have surgery and is quite proud of his nose bump, which separated him from his brother until brother broke his nose skiing. Now, they have twin bumps.

Noses bleed.

I broke my inferior nasal spine playing wraps football.

I had a classmate who took a frisbee to the eye (maybe 6 inches after it left someone's hand). Almost lost his eye (at least that's how it looked). Big slice above it.

I hit my 1/c (I was a 2/c) just above his eye with a puck at hockey. That was really close to being bad... But he got 5-10 stitches, his vision was OK, and now he's a pilot.

Unitedwebe, disregard fencersmom's original post. You're a parent and want to know what's going on and I'm sure you've come to terms that your "child" is actually an adult. I don't know how long you've been on these forums but you have to learn that fencersmom "knows everything there is to know about everything" and will always reply in a slightly condescending tone. That being said, maplerock had it right. The cadre will send someone to the back for anything.

got_milk,

I think you are missing what fencer was trying to get across... they will now be an adult and shield you from what is occurring in their life. You just have to follow THEIR lead now. If and when they want to talk about it, than they will let you in, but until that point, you have to shut up and color as a parent.

Just me, but I found with my DS (AFROTC), and pinning on O3 next week as a pilot, that I had to walk away. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. When he called home he led the conversation. If he wanted to talk about what was going on at UPT than he would, I would not bring it up. Why did I choose to do this? Because I was married to an AF officer and had a MIL that would want to know every detail of his life, which drove him bat crap crazy! If he had a bad flight he did not want to talk about it. He wanted to talk about anything else to get his mind off of his bad flight, not a rehashing and in her defense, not the pump me up since she never lived the life. Yes, he knew she loved him, but it was not what was needed by him at that time.

Fencer, Stealth and myself, have officers that are pilots now. BCT might seem OMG hard, but it is a CAKEWALK compared to UPT. Right now you want that phone call anyday of the week from them just to hear their voice. If they decide to go UPT, which both of fencers boys did, you do not want to hear from them unless it is Sat. or Sun. A weekday phone call is when you steel yourself and say Oh crap...is this a good call or a bad call. Trust me you will get some bad phone calls.

So, in fencers defense, the internet can not display intonation. She impo was not being condescending at all. She was trying to help all of the posters and lurkers by saying that a ton of things will occur with your child, and they will most likely shield you from what they are enduring from her own experiences of what her twins went through at USAFA and UPT.

got_milk,
FYI, impo that post went pass the line. You attacked another poster personally. We are here to support posters and lurkers, not to flame them.

I have met fencer, our history is known throughout this board. Our boys not only went through UPT in the same class, but also fly C130Js out of Dyess. My DS decided to go the AFROTC route over USAFA. Never in her life has she belittling or condescending to me that her DS was better than mine because he was not what the AF calls a ring knocker. The only thing she has ever been guilty of was bleeding AF blue...and of course a rampant Steelers fan.

Her opinion may be brusk, just like mine, but it is meant with only good intentions as someone that has been there, done that and collected a check as a parent. She doesn't sugar coat. To be honest, that is the best type of poster impo. Tell me the real facts of what I am up against, not the rainbows and unicorns.

I am sure I will now be added to your list of condescending posters. That is okay with me. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with her, because I too collected that check as an AF wife (21 yrs ADAF ----Bullet is my DH) and a Mom of a soon to be O3 that is currently deployed (have not heard from him since Mothers Day). Heck, I would love to see pics of my DS, thus, in the big pic, 4 yrs from now does it really matter if they were moved to the back of the line? It has little to no impact on their future. Stop hovering. Start sitting by the phone and enjoy just hearing their voice. If they want to talk about it, GREAT! However, let them decide what they want to share with you... DON'T ASK let them TELL!

Over and out! If I get a slap from the mods so be it. I am fine with defending my position. I did not attack you personally. Can you say the same regarding fencer?

got_milk said:

Unitedwebe, disregard fencersmom's original post. You're a parent and want to know what's going on and I'm sure you've come to terms that your "child" is actually an adult. I don't know how long you've been on these forums but you have to learn that fencersmom "knows everything there is to know about everything" and will always reply in a slightly condescending tone. That being said, maplerock had it right. The cadre will send someone to the back for anything.

Click to expand...

Rude. Got milk, I understand the separation of mother and child is tough during the weaning process. FencersMother is a great asset on this forum. You owe her an apology.

Agree

This was interesting to read. Here's what I've learned about posting/emailing....there's a lot of inferring going on. When a person is not sitting in front of you or you physically hear their voice (phone) it can be very easy to infer or assume their thoughts. I don't know any of you personally. I don't know your backgrounds. I don't know if you're happy in life or angry. I don't know if you are in a good relationship or bad. I don't know anything about any of you OTHER than we have a commonality which is USAFA or the Air Force. After reading the posts following my original post I was surprised by the obvious history among (what appears) people who frequent this forum often, even establishing a "reputation". I will say that a response to my original post did make some assumptions about me. Or perhaps, the post was intended to help me get through BCT. I think it was probably a little bit of both. There were also posts informing what happens on I-Day (assuming I didn't know...which I did know, but I didn't need to respond to that poster because they were probably just trying to be helpful) The reality is that I am perfectly fine where my son is. He attended the Prep School and is prepared physically and mentally. He will be the basic that helps other basics. Regarding "letting go"....we did that last year and it wasn't painful at all. When we left him at USAFA I turned to my husband, gave him a high-five and a kiss and said, "Let's go home!" So you see, it's all good! My husband is a grad of USAFA, went to pilot training, retired and is an airline Captain. Who knows what path our son will chose. Heck, he may not even make it through....we'll see.

FM is consistently condescending on this forum. Any number of people are capable of providing the same information without being rude. Unfortunately, those people cannot devote multiple hours to this forum per day.

And so we see the challenges of the written word!

We come from all parts of the world. What one person sees as good advice, another may see as condescension. You may write something that your friends think is hilarious (they know you!) and another might take as insult.

Long ago, I made the mistake of sending an email and jokingly saying something that came back to haunt me! Lesson learned. So, I read and reread before I post, trying to determine if what I say may be offensive or come across differently than I intend. I'm not perfect (actually, I may be the poster-child of not-perfect!) so each post takes me a while to write -- and even edit after the fact.

So what I'm trying to say: be careful how you may come across (not directed at anyone in particular!) but also be aware that you may be reading more into a post than what is intended (also not directed at anyone in particular!)

Like the great Jack Nicholson said, "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"