I am here and I support USAFA
agagles,
If I am correct that blogger has been banned from this site and other AF forums, she went as far as quoting posters on this site, in a bad way, warping it to fit her negative views of the military
The ban happened about 2 yrs ago when she came on this site and asked posters to discuss the faults of the AFA, only to quote them later on out of context.
Really? Name the cadets! She can't.
Maybe I am wrong, but I think I am correct.
Her desire is to hurt the AFA. Read that blog. Her bio:
I get that parent's and candidates wonder about support, but for me from a big picture perspective, you have to trust the AF. They are very invested in the success of every member. They are not going to ignore what just occurred.
Although momxthree may have not explained it enough why they do what they do, she has placed the 1000% trust the AFA to feel safe as a parent that if this happens, the AFA, just like your public HS will be there for them emotionally.
That is what parents need to understand, be it kissing them goodbye at the AFA, traditional college in AFROTC or OCS, their family is now the AF. They want them to succeed just as much as the parent.
It is hard to let the AF take that role, but it is something you must do as a parent if they are going to succeed.
Dear Pima,
Somebody banned me from this site? Obviously NOT. Your mistake is an example of how false rumors get started and why America needs free speech and writers to remind people of the difference between assumptions and facts. I have not been posting here because I've been busy. In addition to the mini-bio from my byline, that you kindly reprinted, let's not forget that I am also a mother and a college math professor.
First of all, I whole-heartedly support AFA, the Air Force, and our country's defense. I am who I am today because of the leadership training I received at AFA. Part of that training warned us not to fall into "group think," to value every person's input, and to solve problems creatively and with initiative. It also taught us to seek information relative to solving a problem and to recognize that the most difficult part of solving any problem is to define it.
Second of all, I have never quoted any person from this forum without their permission. I NEVER report any single person's opinion without verifying it with many other sources. If a quote sounds like it was lifted from this forum, it is because another source gave me the exact same words. What, you think cadets never hold the same opinions or words? I want to protect and help your cadets, not set them up for ridicule.
Thirdly, I absolutely can name a number of cadets who are concerned about the overly-competitive nature of USAFA. Do you think I should? Let's refer back to me wanting to protect and help your cadets, not set them up for ridicule.
I have no desire to hurt families or USAFA. Family of the deceased cadets I have written about have written and thanked me for giving them a different (and kinder) perspective.
Now let me ask you, does a suicide rate over the last four years that is ten times higher than at a civilian college help the Academy or the Air Force? What do you think the Air Force does when its flying accident rate increases by that much? It stands down and seeks answers. When two cadets and two faculty members committed suicide at USMA earlier this century, that is exactly what USMA did -- very publicly.
Ronald Reagan said "..Trust, but verify." I trust our Air Force and our Air Force Academy, but we still need to verify that they recognize the problem is not adverse publicity, but discovering if there is a pattern behind these deaths.