Packing for Summer Seminar

Just got back from the first session. It was a lot of fun, and a good experience. Just some quick random things to take note of for those going session 2 and 3.


-Don't wear your JROTC uniform to the summer seminar. Yes, someone did it..and let's just say it wasn't AFJROTC.
-Ask a ton of questions to your element leaders. Thats what I liked a lot about summer seminar, it wasn't so much to teach you about things like math and science, but more so to find out if the academy was right for you. One class I took called officership, basically had a Lt. Col. ask each person to raise their hand if they weren't 100% about the academy. And then he would say why do you want to come here? and why not? And basically gave you personal tailored info to help you.
-Don't ask dumb questions. Yes, people asked questions like "can I train for the CFA in my gym?" or a question that was answered one hundred times.
-If you are in a briefing and you have a question, make sure it isn't a personal one. Make sure it's general, so the 349 other kids have some interest in the answer.
-For clothing. They give you 4 shirts that you wear during PT and as the uniform. This is what I did. You get there and they tell you to change into kahkis and one of the 4 shirts. I wore that shirt for PT on thursday. And wore a different shirt during the day. I used the PT shirt from thursday on friday's PT. And wore the shirt from the "daily uniform" from thursday as friday's daily uniform. This gave me two shirts for doolie day. The way I explained it was confusing, but I was up early as heck this morning to get home. You don't really need to do it like this, but some people got their shirts dirty from PT on doolie day, and got yelled at for not having a clean one. You can structure it anyway you want.
-For those worried about PT. Yes, the altitude makes a difference. Not as much as people say. I found what people said about the alitutde to be a little overrated. I think it was more of an excuse for the people out of shape. My mile time was probably 30 seconds off from my normal. But it's not like I felt extra tired from running. PT on thursday and friday isn't that tough. If you go and really can't handle that PT, then you've got a lot of work ahead of you. Its basic stuff...pushups, diamond pushups, bicycles, leg raises, etc. At the end they do a victory lap or 2 around the pilazzo (I think that's what it's called?). Basically its the center of the academy, and I would guess its around 500m...maybe less, I'm not great with measurements. It was pitiful. People were stopping after the first 100m, I saw atleast 4 people throw up. And this is after one lap. This wasn't a sprint. If I had to guess it was probably an 8 minute a mile pace.
-Push yourself physically. Don't be the kid who breaks from pushups after 3 or stops running after 20 seconds.
-CFA, doesn't count. Do your best so you get a baseline. They do it inside, so its hot and less air. I saw a few kids throw up from the mile, but it was really only because they were pushing themselves hard to get a sub 6'30.
-I'm not going to tell you what you do on doolie day, because that defeats the purpose. But listen to your element leaders. Do what they say.
-If you're in JROTC, don't announce it to the world. There were 2 or so kids in my element who did JROTC/Sea Cadets but they weren't annoying about it at all. Only time it was mentioned was to help the non-JROTC kids with the march. I saw kids from other elements who thought being in JROTC constituted completing BCT and the first two years of the academy.
-Drink a ton of water.
-Bring chap stick, your lips will get dry.
-Bring suntan lotion. It's a high altitude. I have the sunburns on my arms and face to prove it.
-Bring 4 or 5 powerbars (or something of the like) for your room, I got hungry and was glad I had them.
-Food is fine, if you eat cafeteria food, this is twice as good. If mom makes you every meal, well, expect a bit of a downgrade. It really isn't that bad. We had things like steak, tacos, chicken, etc.
-A lot of the element leaders are intercollegiate athletes, so they are pretty laid back and will tell you exactly what the academy is like. Nothing held back.
.


All the tips I can think of so far, if I think of more later, I'll add them. Have fun for those going to session 2 and 3!
 
Personally, I found the altitude very challenging. And it wasn't just an excuse for being out of shape. I run about a 7:15-7:30 mile but I ran a 9:23 during the CFA. When I get home I will give more input as well.

Goldfarb, what element were you in?
 
Just a few suggestions for packing. Bring a pair or two of shorts and shirts. I packed only what the list told me (except for flip-flops, bring those also) and the only thing I had to wear in my room was pajamas or the issued clothing. The issued clothing gets dirty during the week so it would have been nice to have something else to change in to.

Another suggestion. The list says to bring 6 pairs of socks and underwear. You will take more than one shower a day. On Saturday we took two showers before noon.

My room did not have hangers in the closet, but it did have hooks to hang towels and such.

I greatly enjoyed the Summer Seminar. Get to know your roommates and your element, and try your best during the activities and you should have a great time.

Just out of curiosity, were any of the posters on this forum, cadre for Summer Seminar?
 
Element B1.

Agree with liberator. Bring a pair or 2 of shorts. Don't need anymore civies than that though as you won't really wear them. Also make sure you plan for an outfit home. Some kids were wearing their dirty PT clothes home.

Yes bring more socks and underwear than they say. Plan for about 3 pairs of underwear/socks a day.
 
Bring a robe as noted on the packing list. It's perfect for the many showers you will take, makes the process nice and easy.
Also, as there is no a/c, you may want to bring a light sheet (especially if your sleeping bag of choice is of heavier make).
I will openly admit that I was among the pukers on that wonderful victory lap. My stamina wasn't quite up to where it needed to be- for those going to session 2, it's too late, but for those going to session 3, ramp up your running training big time. Any extra bit of fitness will help. If you aren't a regular long-distance runner, the altitude will kick the wind out of you. The only guy in my element who didn't seem to be hurting runs a 4:10 mile at sea level, everybody else got their butts kicked to some degree.
Good luck, sessions 2 and 3!


One additional comment- bring a washcloth.
 
Hmm, thanks for all the advice. One quick question: At the West Point SLS, each seperate platoon was issued different colored PT shirts. This was nice to tell the groups a part and also because we got to trade colors so I wasn't stuck with 2 of the exact same shirt. Are they different colored at the AFA SS? Taking home 4 of the exact same shirt would kind of suck.

Also, throw me in with the group that only runs a 7:20 mile. The altitude may kill me.
 
Yes, you get four of the same nice gray workout shirts... but I don't think it's that big of a deal, they're good shirts and you also get a sweet windbreaker.
As for the altitude: just run as much as you can until you leave. The cadre understand that people have difficulty with the altitude, and they give you some grace for that.
 
packing questions...suggest light jacket, do you get the windbreaker early enough to use that? states pants...shorts ok or should you plan on pants only?
 
tedsnyder63 said:
packing questions...suggest light jacket, do you get the windbreaker early enough to use that? states pants...shorts ok or should you plan on pants only?
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You'll get the windbreaker once you get to USAFA. I found myself to be quite hot at night, so don't feel you need a sweatshirt at night.

Tan pants are a requirement for the daily uniform and you cannot wear tan shorts. You will be issued athletic shorts for PT. These are the only shorts you can wear for PT.
 
I suppose its too late to start running, isn't it. Definatley do not want to have to take the CFA again after taking it at USMA. There's no way I'll do better with the altitude anyway.
 
Stormtrooper30 said:
There's no way I'll do better with the altitude anyway.
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Son just returned from USAFA Summer Seminar.... they did not take the CFA for score. It was more of a session on what the CFA is, and you are allowed to practice. It did not use the official times, etc. (Ten minutes instead of five per event)
 
Exactly what hawk said. CFA doesn't count. It's used more to give you a basis of what your scores are. The way it works is you will go to the field house either on Thursday afternoon or Friday afternoon, depending on your squadron. They have the events divided up into stations. They then divide up into 3-4 elements per station. 10 minutes per station and then they rotate you to the next station. It is not necessarily the order of the CFA. Some people will start with the mile run, others end with it. They give you a sheet and pencil to mark down your scores.

Expect your mile time to be about 30-45 seconds off. Some said it was as much as a minute and half off for them. But again, don't worry it doesn't count. But treat it as if it did, so you can get the most realistic scores.
 
tedsnyder63 said:
packing questions...suggest light jacket, do you get the windbreaker early enough to use that? states pants...shorts ok or should you plan on pants only?
Click to expand...
Whatever happened to just following the checklist? Seriously though what you wear will have to standardize with your classmates so just bring what they told you to.
 
goldfarb1 said:
Exactly what hawk said. CFA doesn't count. It's used more to give you a basis of what your scores are. The way it works is you will go to the field house either on Thursday afternoon or Friday afternoon, depending on your squadron. They have the events divided up into stations. They then divide up into 3-4 elements per station. 10 minutes per station and then they rotate you to the next station. It is not necessarily the order of the CFA. Some people will start with the mile run, others end with it. They give you a sheet and pencil to mark down your scores.

Expect your mile time to be about 30-45 seconds off. Some said it was as much as a minute and half off for them. But again, don't worry it doesn't count. But treat it as if it did, so you can get the most realistic scores.
Click to expand...

Oh cool. I already took and passed the CFA at USMA SLS, so this should be a relaxed workout session. Good to hear.
 
It says to bring a sleeping bad or slumber bag (whatever that is). Do we really need to bring that? I mean, as long as I have something soft to sleep on I'm good. I didn't use the covers at West Point and I'm assuming Air Force will be the same.
 
Unless you like sleeping on a bare mattress, bring a sleeping bag. There were no covers on the beds at last year's USAFA summer seminar.
 
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