So much for my last .02.
@fromupnorth this appointment is yours until the deadline for your decision.
It took some courage to come here and lay out what’s going through your mind. All appointees should take the time they need to arrive at a decision they feel they can move forward with. And, it is okay to be uncertain and have your own unique set of pros and cons. You cannot know - for certain - without actually having lived as a cadet, whether USAFA is the right place for you. You can feel strongly it is the right place, but you cannot know beyond a shadow of a doubt - this is life in a nutshell, making life-altering decisions in real time that require choosing one path over another as the person you are at that precise moment in time, with imperfect knowledge.
Anyone who has taken the time, 2.5 years, of their young life and devoted it to serving the community as an EMT on the path to paramedic, has probably seen a few things and done a few things that have quickly matured them. You are indeed fortunate to have a choice like this, and you earned every bit of being in this position. You have likely seen people at very low points in their lives, in horrific situations, and yet you chose to wade into it and serve them. Clearly USAFA saw something in you they want in the class they are building. I am glad they extended the privilege of choosing to accept or decline an appointment to you. They are accustomed to people taking the time they need to think through their decisions, and have also built attrition into their planning as they figure out how many more offers they can extend at this point in the cycle. They want appointees to think about the final acceof/decline decision with a 360-degree thinking approach.
There are those who have dreamed of an appointment for years, are 100% certain of their decision and will shock their families when they decide to voluntarily separate during the summer or first year or two. You simply don’t know what you don’t know, and that can work two ways. You can feel certain USAFA is your place, and gradually or suddenly realize it is not. Or you can go with some uncertainty in your heart, and realize this is your place, your people, your path, despite the suck.
The fact is, every year fully qualified candidates with noms are turned down. There simply isn’t room in the class. Those who have been turned down, this year, are on their own journeys. You are on yours. Take the time you need to figure it out, but remember it is okay, and very human, to hold some residual uncertainty in your heart, no matter your choice.
Let us know what you decide to do. This thread has generated much thoughtful discussion.