Alright, Pima, I have no idea why you are showing such animosity towards me. What have I done to you? I don't have to prove myself to you, but I get severely upset when people accuse me of being a liar. So please read the following, and do not judge me again.
1. My friend attended USAFA for exactly 21 days before leaving. He still retains issued material from USAFA, such as a blue backpack embroidered with his name, PT gear, a bathrobe, and other assorted items. Now, I'm not completely certain what the process is, but what I do know is that he is currently enrolled in AFROTC, and he pays no tuition money. As a polite individual, I am not intimately familiar with the details of other peoples' financial situations.
2. NROTC paid my tuition before
school even began. At that point, I had yet to decline their scholarship. Once I declined, they had to get their money back. Please see the attached photo for my account balances for that period of time. With close enough observation, hopefully you can see that "N.R.O.T.C" paid amounts of over $4,000, which was then refunded back to them. Don't ask me how or why.
To address your concern that I am not an AFROTC scholarship recipient, please see the next attached picture for a similar situation to the above described, except this time it is "Air Force ROTC 9000 FY" that is paying amounts of over $4,000.
3. Why would I place a cap inside a shadow box? I have heard of people placing flags, or sometimes whole uniform jackets inside a shadow box. I have yet to see a cap being placed in a shadow box, unless it is in a box all by its lonesome, which, in my opinion, would look very odd. Some people like to display their ribbons, medals, and decorations. I like to display the ribbons that I have earned as a cadet, especially now since that I will likely be disenrolled from the program. I think that seems reasonable enough. If that is in any way wrong, please let me know.
4. Please see the third attached picture for my saber and service cap. The statement that "nobody" buys these things is erroneous, as you are likely drawing your information from a limited pool. Obviously,
somebody buys these, as I have them myself. Why would I get them, you ask? Why would I not? There's nothing wrong with purchasing things with your own money. I'm not sure where I have sinned in purchasing these items for myself.
Here's a link to buy your own service cap:
http://www.uniforms-4u.com/p-usaf-company-grade-officer-hat-7324.aspx
5. Again, your generalized assumption that "nobody" buys them until they are an O-4 is blatantly incorrect. Please take a look at AFI 36-2903.
"6.2.1.1. The visor-type service cap is banded with dark blue 1 ¾ inch braid and has a front black chin strap. An optional version has a braid of an open mesh construction and an optional black leather back strap. The cap sits squarely on the head with no hair protruding in front of the cap. Officers wear the service cap insignia without a circle and with the appropriate clouds and darts (based on rank) centered on the front of the cap. Enlisted wear the service cap insignia with a circle, centered on the front of the cap.
Service cap is mandatory for Majors and above to maintain and optional for all others. (emphasis added)" This regulation is found on page 86, if you are curious.
What does this mean? Well, it appears that if you are an O-4 (Major) and above, you are required to own and maintain a service cap. The phrase, "optional for all others" means that all other, i.e. Lieutenants, Captains, can own and maintain one
if they choose to do so. No regulations that I could find exist governing cadets wearing the service cap. However, since every other uniform item that a cadet wears (service dress, flight cap, rank placement) is the same as officers, it is only reasonable to assume that Air Force officer uniform regulations apply towards cadets as well.
6. I do know that AAS is an honor society, and I also do know that it took something like 15 weeks to complete the program. This was due to several cancellations and other issues that made the whole experience drawn out. Is there something wrong with being proud of a ribbon that I worked so hard to earn? AAS cadets comprise less than 10 percent of the detachment. I am proud of my ribbon, proud of my AAS rank and cord, and proud of being an Active in Arnold Air Society.
Now, if you have any further questions regarding my credibility, please voice them here. I still do not understand why you were so excruciatingly impolite to me, but hopefully this post addresses all of your concerns.
In the future, correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation makes a world of a difference in an argument. Little details such as those really degrade the quality of an argument. It is hard to take somebody seriously if they do not take their own writing seriously.