Cadet Life questions?

alright, and also...this is going to sound really petty and stupid, but during the academic year, do cadets have facebook access? ><
 
alright, and also...this is going to sound really petty and stupid, but during the academic year, do cadets have facebook access? ><

If the rules are the same as at USMA, cadets do have Facebook access. I'm not sure if there's any written rule against it, but I saw cadets at USMA on it.
 
USAFA cadets do have Facebook access. DS has multiple cadet friends (C4C and up) that he Facebooks.
 
As long as you have internet access you should have facebook. It's allowed on DoD workstations, so theres no reason they wouldn't allow it at the USAFA.

Off topic: Blackbird, you're from Kentucky? I'm stationed at Andrews AFB. But i'm originally from Kentucky.
 
I just saw a news item yesterday from USAFA saying that they no longer want appointees to show up with boots at inprocessing. They said the ones issued to basic cadets no longer require a break-in period (which is true according to our 4*). Therefore they are no longer going to issue a credit to appointees for the cost of boots they may have purchased prior to showing up with them at inprocessing.

One less thing to worry about bringing...
 
As long as you have internet access you should have facebook. It's allowed on DoD workstations, so theres no reason they wouldn't allow it at the USAFA.

Off topic: Blackbird, you're from Kentucky? I'm stationed at Andrews AFB. But i'm originally from Kentucky.

I saw a post on here by a current cadet that said it depends on the squad but most had access to it. He also said the time spent on Facebook had a direct correlation with his GPA so he deleted his facebook account.:biggrin:
 
do plebes have access to facebook then? and...what sort of hazing usually goes on with the plebes anyway? after bct.
 
Yes. The network does not discriminate.

Be careful with terms. Hazing isn't something tolerated at the academy. Training can be tough. Some trainers sometimes do lose sight of their goals, but usually each bit of training has a defined purpose.
 
I have a question to add. What's the scoop on corrective lenses cadets can wear? Can you wear soft contact lenses? What about during BCT or PT?
 
Contacts cannot be worn during BCT. They can be worn after BCT with the exception of certain training activities, when they'll explicitly tell you to take out contacts.
 
Right, i didn't mean hazing, but like...what is there that a plebe can and cannot do until Recognition?
 
Contacts cannot be worn during BCT. They can be worn after BCT with the exception of certain training activities, when they'll explicitly tell you to take out contacts.

To add to this I doubt you will want to wear contacts. I have them and on rare occasion they do get folded inside my eye, or get dirt on it etc. I wear glasses most places if I will not be able to (or want to) stop what I am doing and run to a mirror to see what happened (or where ever I can go to fix it). Glasses are a way safer bet in my opinion.
 
To add to this I doubt you will want to wear contacts. I have them and on rare occasion they do get folded inside my eye, or get dirt on it etc. I wear glasses most places if I will not be able to (or want to) stop what I am doing and run to a mirror to see what happened (or where ever I can go to fix it). Glasses are a way safer bet in my opinion.

That's true. I wear contacts camping once a month and usually don't have a problem, but in a training setting I guess I wouldn't want to fix them. I just hate getting mud on my glasses too and not being able to see through it. Does the AFA give you glasses? In a BCT video I've seen, half the basic cadets were wearing glasses and they were all uniform frames.
 
The AF will issue you a wonderful pair of BCGs and that is what you will have to wear. You won't have the option of contacts until after BCT is over.

There will be a form to return that comes in the appointee package that will have information regarding glasses so that they can have your glasses waiting for you when you arrive.
 
Right, i didn't mean hazing, but like...what is there that a plebe can and cannot do until Recognition?

How hard life is as a 4-dig (four degree, fourth class cadet, freshman, doolie...we don't call them Plebes here) depends largely on the squadron they are placed in, which is random. However, there are a few things that are required Wing Wide, to include running on the strips (marble pathways on the outside of the Terrazzo), carrying your backpack in your left hand, no media except for the internet (so no music, movies, tv, video/pc games), no civvies, being at attention in the cadet area, except for the academic area, chapel, and dorm rooms, doors open most of the day, no sleeping during the day, taking weekly knowledge tests, and wearing service dress whenever you're signed out (within a 150 mi. radius). These are the main requirements that I remember, and are enforced across the Wing. Freshmen also have to call minutes before mandatory formations morning, keep the squadron clean (so take out the trash, and clean some squadron areas, depending on the squad), and usually have training sessions weekly. How often you have to do these later ones, and the whole atmosphere of training depends on the squadron.
 
Prioritize the training in the time remaining.

How often you have to do these later ones, and the whole atmosphere of training depends on the squadron.

Trying to figure out what to train for most with the time remaining to get through BCT...what is the minimum PFAT score for each fitness test and what overall score is passing and what happens if you fall short in something like pullups by the time you complete BCT?

Is the fitness tests n BCT repeated throughout the years or after BCT is there a different fitness standard?

Is fitness dialed down once you get past your freshman year? What priveleges does a sophomore get that a freshman doesn't have?
 
Fitness standards are the same for your whole cadet career. The AFT (1.5mi run) time to pass is 11:15. That is a relatively easy bar to meet, and you will holding people back in any team events with a score like that. The PFT has 5 events, each with 0 to 100 points possible. It doesn't matter how each is scored, as long as you get at least 250 overall. For example, I did ok at pull-ups, terrible at the standing long jump, maxed sit-ups, did decent at push-ups, and somewhere between poor and ok at the 600m run.

Mandatory PT events occur less often after 4 dig year, but you will still have to pass the AFT and PFT.
 
How hard life is as a 4-dig (four degree, fourth class cadet, freshman, doolie...we don't call them Plebes here) depends largely on the squadron they are placed in, which is random. However, there are a few things that are required Wing Wide, to include running on the strips (marble pathways on the outside of the Terrazzo), carrying your backpack in your left hand, no media except for the internet (so no music, movies, tv, video/pc games), no civvies, being at attention in the cadet area, except for the academic area, chapel, and dorm rooms, doors open most of the day, no sleeping during the day, taking weekly knowledge tests, and wearing service dress whenever you're signed out (within a 150 mi. radius). These are the main requirements that I remember, and are enforced across the Wing. Freshmen also have to call minutes before mandatory formations morning, keep the squadron clean (so take out the trash, and clean some squadron areas, depending on the squad), and usually have training sessions weekly. How often you have to do these later ones, and the whole atmosphere of training depends on the squadron.

Alright... what about leave, then? Is it possible to go back home for a single weekend some time? I remember someone mentioning that you had to file a bunch of paperwork to leave the 150 mile radius, but what about plebes/doolies?
 
Alright... what about leave, then? Is it possible to go back home for a single weekend some time? I remember someone mentioning that you had to file a bunch of paperwork to leave the 150 mile radius, but what about plebes/doolies?

I can answer that, I did it in October and it really wasn't that bad but it depends on your squadron and the element you're in in it. You just have to write up a special Air Force document (called a SSS) and send it up the chain of command. Really simple and upperclassmen should be able to help you with it. As long as it's not ridiculous and you have a good reason, 99% of the time they will approve it.

In regards to the difference between real college and USAFA, I went to a real college for a few years (long story) and I can tell you USAFA is almost completely different from one. I agree with someone who says that life probably isn't even remotely similar to a real college even after Recognition (haven't been experienced it yet but have a pretty good idea). You still need permission to do so many things even like going to Wal-Mart in the middle of the day whereas at real college, you are free to do whatever you want, and I mean anything as long as a)it's legal or b)you don't get caught. You could skip class the whole day and just sleep in. Go home every single weekend. Get drunk at the bars or at a house party every weekend and wander back to your room completely trashed. You could become a loner and talk to basically no one your entire college career if you felt like it. At USAFA, you're almost always under a microscope and is literally a book full of rules that you have to follow at all times.

However, choosing to go to a civilian college or USAFA is choosing between two different paths. you're either picking a civilian life or a life where you will be serving your country and be in the military for at least 5 years. It all depends on which one you want to do. If you're doing this just to get a college diploma that you can use later down the road, then well good luck on that. I think the point of trying to compare real college life and USAFA life is kind of pointless because they are completely different paths and it just sort of depresses some of us by constantly reminding ourselves how our lives could be so much "funner", granted we get to do some pretty cool things here.:biggrin:
 
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