C4C considering leaving after BCT

Boy, my DD took that #10 to heart.
Sometimes those phone calls can just rip your heart out. But parents, be strong. You raised an amazing kid -- they got that from somewhere!
 
I love the "Time Management" caution. It is so true: one who manages time well usually manages all areas of his/her life well.
 
7. Academics come first and foremost. You are there for the education, not to
become the world's greatest boot shiner. Do everything to the best of your
ability, but know the priorities for success at AFA.

While Academics certainly are a VERY important part of the Academy, I want to remind parents that Cadets are NOT here for the education.
The Academy's mission is to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.
Now some people will see the word "educate" and think that means academic education. That is only one component on many things we teach.

Ladies and gentlemen, you sons and daughters are not here to get a degree. There are plenty of enlisted personnel with one, even two master's degrees. There are here to become officers and the education we speak of is how to make decisions, how to lead, how to take someones life and shape its path, care for their future, or order them into harm's way. I've seen it in other posts, but I want to reiterate that this is not a college. This is a service academy where we train Cadets to become military professionals. With a couple exceptions, the job you do in the Air Force is not directly correlated to your education; it has everything to do with who you are as a leader.

I don't think cadets should be the world's greatest boot shiners, but someone who stays up all night studying for a test at the expense of their Cadet responsibilities is showing that they can't even lead themselves.

Education comes second to understanding the profession of arms and realizing that the military is a lifestyle where your effect on real, living, breathing human beings is the measure of your merit.
 
DS, who is usually very critical, and was (and maybe still is) in a lot of self doubt and questioning during BCT, praised his cadre as true leaders and outstanding people. Knowing him I initially suspected he was sarcastic but it turned to be not the case and both BCT1 and BCT2 cadre had his utmost respect as leaders. Maybe he got lucky with cadre, or just has a different prospective.
During BCT, he did not have issue with yelling (said there was not much in his squadron) or training (said was really easy except maybe scissor kicks), but what got to him was standing at attention for hours staring at the wall. Asked him why relatively significant percentage dropped out after BCT and he said "Ours was the worst class from physical readiness prospective". Not sure where he got it from, maybe cumulative aggregate fitness test scores for C19, or maybe every year Doolies are told "You are the worst ever" just like they do in UPT:).
 
7. Academics come first and foremost. You are there for the education, not to
become the world's greatest boot shiner. Do everything to the best of your
ability, but know the priorities for success at AFA.

While Academics certainly are a VERY important part of the Academy, I want to remind parents that Cadets are NOT here for the education.
The Academy's mission is to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.
Now some people will see the word "educate" and think that means academic education. That is only one component on many things we teach.

Ladies and gentlemen, you sons and daughters are not here to get a degree. There are plenty of enlisted personnel with one, even two master's degrees. There are here to become officers and the education we speak of is how to make decisions, how to lead, how to take someones life and shape its path, care for their future, or order them into harm's way. I've seen it in other posts, but I want to reiterate that this is not a college. This is a service academy where we train Cadets to become military professionals. With a couple exceptions, the job you do in the Air Force is not directly correlated to your education; it has everything to do with who you are as a leader.

I don't think cadets should be the world's greatest boot shiners, but someone who stays up all night studying for a test at the expense of their Cadet responsibilities is showing that they can't even lead themselves.

Education comes second to understanding the profession of arms and realizing that the military is a lifestyle where your effect on real, living, breathing human beings is the measure of your merit.

I agree that the military training is important, but I do not see it as taking the primary role because of the marketing and messaging that is sent by the USAFA. When marketing to the civilian population, the emphasis is on what a great academic institution it is. After crowing about academics, then the USAFA moves on to mention leadership development for the military. As the GPA plays a greater role/percentage in cadet rankings/ratings then the MPA or PFT/AFT does, it would appear that the emphasis is on the academic side.

As your rating/ranking determines if you get a rated slot (pilot), your GPA certainly plays a large roll in determining what you get to do in the Air Force. So to say "the job you do in the Air Force is not directly correlated to your education" is misleading. It may not correlate to your degree, but your overall GPA will impact your ability to get your preference.

What is the formula for ranking now? 70 academic, 20 military and 10 physical?
 
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