Again; it all depends on WHY he wants to contact his "Future" ALO. If it's just to get to know him/her, then that's not needed and the ALO probably has more pressing things going on. (Not to say they shouldn't at least be polite enough to email back).
If it's for specific questions, as soon as your son becomes an official applicant, the ALO will be there to answer any questions. Or, the questions could be asked here on this forum. And once your son completes 3 steps in the application, they go pretty much to candidate status if they are qualified and the ALO will have a 30 day deadline in which to interview your son and complete the report for admissions. So he'll definitely be in contact with the ALO.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of emails ALO's get from Non-Applicants, us usually along the lines of:
"Hi, I'm John/Jane Smith and I've been interested in going to the air force academy every since I was (Pick an age). I've been working hard to get good grades and improve on my ACT/SAT scores. I play sports and hope to be one of the captains of the team this coming year. I'm also involved with......... etc. I look forward to meeting you soon and hopefully attend the academy." (Usually, this is the end of the email, or they'll throw in a bunch of questions).
Unfortunately, many of these individuals, especially if they are in 9th-10th grade, change their mind about 2,437 times and many never do actually apply. Unfortunately, many think their ALO is their academy "Guidance Counselor" and "Mentor". The ALO means: "ADMISSIONS LIAISON OFFICER". We are admissions at the closest point of the applicant because the admissions office obviously can't travel to the thousands of high schools to do interviews and background checks with the schools and teachers. (Yes, we do check up on you sometimes). We promote summer seminar to juniors. There's a lot of official things an ALO does. But they must remain impartial.
It is definitely an ALO's job to answer general questions about the academy and the application process to potential applicants. Usually, this is done based on the ALO's available time. There are programs higher up the chain to present academy fairs, Q&A, town hall type meetings, etc. at local schools for anyone to attend. The ALO of that school will generally work as the liaison between the school, the ALO's Boss (LOD), and the admissions department of the academy. Many ALO's do go the extra mile. You can email or call them any time and they'll help you out. They'll administer the CFA for the applicant/candidate. They'll contact admissions with concerns. They're involved with the MOC's. Etc. But most of this is out of the goodness of their hearts. They don't have to do a lot of this. Each ALO is different with a different amount of time they can provide to the program.
While I have definitely enjoyed being an ALO and/or assisting applicants get into the academy and ROTC for the last 15 years, it's important for me to remember that I must remain impartial. I can't give some applicants more attention or assistance than I do others. That's why when my son was applying to the academy, I couldn't be an ALO for him, and generally for anyone applying who goes to the same school. For me, I simply didn't do anything as an ALO. Obviously, I gave my son as much help as I could based on my experience. But I didn't have any official capacity. But with him being a military brat and having lived in a number of military bases; including overseas; he really didn't need much of my help when he was applying. But ALO's need to keep that level of impartiality with all of their applicants. There are some ALO's that only correspond with official Applicants/Candidates. Anyone else, they only talk to during school career fairs, Admissions Town Hall Meetings, etc. They want all of their applicants to start with the same footing.
Remember; you on this forum posting, you make up LESS THAN 1% of all the applicants. You have a major advantage already over the other 99%. You get answers almost immediately here. The answers are pretty well vetted by the other posters. The other 99%, they contact or are contacted by their ALO AFTER they OFFICIALLY apply to the academy. They do their online applications pretty much on their own. They'll email or call the ALO or Admissions counselor with the occasional question; but pretty much they are on their own. You all have so many resources on this forum. You have ALO's, Current Cadets, Alumni from the academy, parents of cadets and alumni, other applicants, etc. That's why the percentage of those posting here is so high for receiving an appointment. The "Appointment Thread" is pretty big considering how many applicants post here.
Anyway; sorry for the long post. I sometimes think that some expect more from their ALO's than is required of the ALO. They are suppose to be personally involved in helping you receive an appointment. They are there to provide you the necessary information to apply to the academy and to interview you. Remaining neutral with you and your COMPETITION. Some ALO's can provide more personal service and remain impartial. Some can't. Wait until you're an official applicant and you're ALO will definitely be contacting you. If you need anything answered prior to that, simply ask here. Mike
