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.