Mars Girl

CadCandMateus

Recent Grad
10-Year Member
5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
599
Looks like we have a mars girl this time folks:

“I got my letter of acceptance to the USAFA 5 months ago. I have a 4.40 GPA and I will major in Chem and Astro. My parents have been very supportive and I love them very much. I have the most annoying siblings. I consider myself to be the best there is. When I go to the academy I plan on being wing commander, which means I will be in charge. I also want to be an astronaut and help to develop a moon base in order to go to mars. I want to be the first human on mars. I am a member of civil air patrol and will be sad to leave my friends there but I will be moving on to the academy and they will be able to handle it when I leave them behind. I love you Kim and Pete and Issac.”

Future basics, take this as an example of what not to do. This is already all over the cadet wing who are now anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Good luck
 
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Aww I was hoping we would be the "humble class".

Scrap that idea...
 
Where did you get this?

IMO - you are a little too eager to pile on.
It is bad form for Cadets and Midshipmen to spend time on the internet trolling around to attempt to find fault with the incoming class. I thought Cadets and Midshipmen were persons of honor and integrity.
Stop making fun of these kids who don't know any better. Wait until they walk through the door.
Furthermore - it's one thing to spread it throughout the wing, brigade or corps but to post this on this forum is in bad taste.
What if her parents logged on here and saw this?
I am not a moderator but if I were I would forbid this train from leaving the station - it is doomed to wreck.

Oh and BTW - what is wrong with wanting to go to Mars? I think most cadets who read this are jealous because they are now in a position to realize they are not smart enough to make it to Mars. Honestly, give a kid a chance to dream a little.

Finally to all Appointees and Parents - keep the local news media away. Do not talk to them. Once you agree to an interview what they print is out of your control. Lock down the facebook and myspace.
 
I think his post is appropriate advice to new candidates, JAM - you even give the same basic advice in your post - watch what you say and who you say it to.

He did not post any names, and from reading his post it already has been widely circulated within the academy.

Closing this thread is not the right thing to do, the post is appropriate for the section and for the forum.

IMO it's a valuable lesson to everyone here who reads it, no reason to delete it/close it.
 
Wow, JAM, chill, don't be so shrill!!!

Maybe some cadet was just looking at the hometown newspaper and who was coming to USAFA next year from his area and that story just rang a bell in view of MarsBoy of 2013 (left USAFA due to academics, not the Cadre). I think it's a jump to imply someone is maliciously trolling the internet for dirt.

No names are mentioned in the post. Appears that appointees should continue to be reminded, sometimes with concrete examples, of what they shouldn't do before they get to USAFA all for their own good.

You are right all of us should dream, but unlike Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream," sometimes it's best not to be shouting them from the podiums, rooftops, or newspapers!

Keep things like your extra-planetary ambitions neatly tucked away in your heart of hearts.
 
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FWIW, JAM, I think the more unfortunate statement she made is "When I go to the academy I plan on being wing commander, which means I will be in charge."

Someone who goes to an SA with the expectation that he or she will be the most exceptional new cadet in the door is being unrealistic.
 
I agree the wing commander comment is hard to swallow. Not only among the upperclass cadets but among her peers. Leadership is earned and it is hard to earn respect of your peers with statements like that. I worked with several folks like that in industry and they had a very hard time both with peers and in leadership roles.

I am sure the cadre will have her towing the line like the rest of the class.:biggrin:

Best to walk softly and carry a big stick.
 
There will always be articles about appointees somewhere. I just don't know why they all have to be arrogant about going to Mars. Who publishes these things anyway? This girl just decides that she wants an article online about how she wants to be the Wing Commander and the first to Mars?

If I am correct, there will only be 2 wing commanders from 2014. So about a 1 in 500 chance of any of us getting the responsibility and honor of that position. That kind of a statement is huge, she pretty much just said that she will be in charge.

Later,

Brian
 
It's a bad idea for prospective cadets and midshipmen to post any cannon fodder. We looked online at the social networking sites when I was a cadet too, found people, with their names, saying it would be easy, or that they could play the game. Not a great idea.

I see no real harm in posting an unattributed post here, as most know, once it's on the internet, it isn't going away. If a parent logged on and saw it, better correct the kid who originally wrote it. Sheltering them from their stupid mistakes will soon come to an end. :wink:

What's wrong with going to Mars? It takes away from my budget.

Lastly, do not avoid local media. In fact the Navy (and Marine Corps and Coast Guard) pay millions into a program to release information to those "hometown" presses. Remember to think about what you're saying and have your ducks in a row, but there is no reason to avoid it.
 
@vullnnoid:

Mars Boy, after all of his bragging and talk, got kickout out on academics. He then sent out a very rude picture of himself to his entire class, basically guaranteeing that he is not officer potential and most likely denying him any chance at ROTC.


@JAM, et al

As for this girl, yes we know her name. The issue isn't so much about having dreams to go to Mars. Almost everyone does. The mars idea ties her to Mars boy who got a rude awakening. The big issue are the following comments:

"I consider myself to be the best there is. "
"I plan on being wing commander, which means I will be in charge."

That's obviously not the attitude to come in with, and definetely not leave with. The cadre will make sure she learns this. If she does, great for her and hopefully she can reach her dreams. If not, well, then she can meet up with Mars Boy and they can dream together far away from the military
 
It's not the dream that is the issue, it is the attitude.

Appointees need to realize they are a currently the big fish in a small pond. They are about to move into a much bigger lake, with other big fish. It is WAY to early to determine who will be the big fish in the new lake! When I entered, I said (to myself), "I'll start out with a 3.5, and see how high I can get." I've never had a 3.5 here. In the words of one of my instructors, "This ain't high school no more!"

Want to be the first person on Mars? You had better PROVE to be the best, and hope the stars (and budgets) align. The words of an 18 year old don't mean much, unless they back them up. Since she has not backed up her claims in any visible way, her statements tend to look arrogant...

AKA
OOOHHH, AHHH, you have a good GPA and did CAP. That doesn't make you stand out at USAFA. Most cadets have similar accomplishments. Welcome to the club!
 
Lilly -
Cadets subscribe to news alerts (like Google News Alerts). They get emails of any news article related to their academy.
So, a local article in the Podunk Idaho News featuring the communities top high school student attending USXX appears in the cadet's inbox.
The Cadet clicks on the article which is meant to be an interest article for the community and an interview with the appointee. These articles are quite common in hometown papers and serve to highlight the accomplishments of local high school students but also PR for the Academies. The paper sends a cub reporter to your home or interviews your child at school. You all sit around and chat for a while and you chat up about high school, grades, activities, reason for attending an SA and long term goals. It's all a free flowing conversation while the reporter takes notes. All of those notes are then translated back into an article. Neither you nor your child has any control over the quotes nor the tone. You don't get a rough draft to approve. You don't get to fact-check.
What happens next is the Cadets' will circulate the article to all their buddies. Most of these online articles also have a place for comments below the article. Most local people leave messages of good wishes or we are proud of you. Not Cadets. They leave mean, threatening messages for the community and the appointee to read. They pick apart every sentence and quote and make fun of the appointee telling him/her that they will be getting "special attention".
It is immature and lacks honor and integrity. It also puts the Academies in a bad light in the community.
This has been going on for a few years now.
Imagine the horror of some poor parent who click on the article in their hometown paper and reads hundreds of comments piled on by current cadets. Yuk.

As for Mars - it is in the news. Buzz Aldrin thinks we should go and NASA should be heading in that direction. It is the same as a kid from the 50's or 60's wanting to go to the moon. (I guess some of you are way too young for that).
 
*sits back with bag of popcorn.. this will be fun to watch
 
This doesn't read like a newspaper article but something that the candidate herself posted on Facebook and certainly had control over. Mars Boy's trouble started with an article in his local newspaper. Big difference to me.
 
The USCGA sends an optional pre-printed, pre-worded "United States Coast Guard Academy Appointee Fleet Home Town News Release Form" with every appointment.

Just type in your name, hometown, name of parents, and high school name - sign it and send it to the paper - no room for anything to be "misquoted" or "misinterpreted" and no ammunition for the swab summer cadre.

The swab-candidates are encouraged to send it to the local newspaper, the local church bulletin, even local radio stations, but they are not under any obligation to do so.

:cool:
 
It is immature and lacks honor and integrity. It also puts the Academies in a bad light in the community.

As for Mars - it is in the news. Buzz Aldrin thinks we should go and NASA should be heading in that direction. It is the same as a kid from the 50's or 60's wanting to go to the moon. (I guess some of you are way too young for that).



It has nothing to do with "honor". It would have to do with respect. What you described is a rarity, not the norm. First, many cadets don't want "news alerts" for their school....why? Because they're there 24/7. I know we never "searched" for articles. I do now. Maybe that's the mentality at West Point but that's not generally how things are done at CGA.

I'm not too young to know that the proposed budget from President Obama axed NASA's moon program, you can pretty much kiss Mars goodbye. Of course, when our neighbors call in our debt, you can kiss far more than the moon goodbye.

And again, do not avoid the media at all costs....also....don't be stupid.
 
I agree with eagle36, its not the dream that bothers me (we all have dreams)....it's the attitude. That type of attitude will not get anyone anywhere leadership wise.

As for people posting the message she sent. I don't see a problem with it at all. If she's going to put something like that on a social networking site or anywhere public for that matter, expect the backfire. Is it juvenille for peope to re-post? No, I don't think so...I think that its a lesson learned. I guess Mars boy wasn't the last to teach the lesson, and I'm sure this girl won't be either.
 
The USCGA sends an optional pre-printed, pre-worded "United States Coast Guard Academy Appointee Fleet Home Town News Release Form" with every appointment.

Just type in your name, hometown, name of parents, and high school name - sign it and send it to the paper - no room for anything to be "misquoted" or "misinterpreted" and no ammunition for the swab summer cadre.

The swab-candidates are encouraged to send it to the local newspaper, the local church bulletin, even local radio stations, but they are not under any obligation to do so.

:cool:

The Home Town News Release is not unique to the Coast Guard Academy either. Many PAOs will talk to newly arrived persons about completing the form.
 
Please, let's not make statements accusing cadets of being nasty human beings that take pleasure in leaving mean, threatening messages for the community and the appointee to read. No, they do not pick apart every sentence and quote and do not make fun of the appointee telling him/her that they will be getting "special attention".
It should be considered a great service for any prospective candidate to learn about what not to do. Mommy won't be there to hold the cadets hand when things get tough during basic training. Yes, and there will be special attention for just about everything that the cadet says and does, including the color of the envelope that comes in the mail for him/her!
The first year will be the toughest every cadet will every face. These young men and women will be considered adults the second they sign the papers and will NOT be handled with silk gloves. If they can't handle reading feedback then they are looking at the wrong career. An officer program is for people who understand that they are just a tiny fish in a big pond. They first have to proof themselves to be worthy of respect before it is given. Making statements that they are the best works for three year olds and not eighteen year olds.
 
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