BCT Grad/Acceptance Day for USAFA class of 2015

I saw posted somewhere that parents are not able to attend BCT graduation on July 30th. My daughter believes parents are welcome to attend the Acceptance parade on 8/3/11. Would anyone be able to tell me if that is true? Her father and step-mother will be visiting her for Parents Weekend and I was going to try to fly out to see her if only for a little 1 of the 2 days but I am confused. Please help me! Thanks.

There is nothing official on the 30th that you can attend. You might be able to see something from "The Wall" at the chapel; but there's no official guest ceremony. You won't be able to talk/touch your cadet. But on Aug 3rd is "Acceptance Day". That is when family/friends can watch the Acceptance Parade. This is where they officially become cadets. Most times, after the parade, parents and cadets can spend a couple hours together. They can't really leave, so parents/family will usually bring a picnic lunch or similar and you all just hang out on a piece of grass. Some will go to arnold hall. Either way, it's a very exciting time if you can make it. But actual time with your cadet is going to be very short. No more than a couple of hours. And that isn't even guaranteed. Because of schedules, your cadet might have enough time to get a hug from you after the Acceptance Ceremony, and then have to leave. But the majority usually are able to spend a couple hours with their cadets. If this isn't what you're talking about, you might need to clarify your question. mike....

As CC said, basic cadets do not "graduate" BCT and become fourth class cadets until the Acceptance Day parade on August 3rd. The days before that are transition days and are much less stressful, but they still are basic cadets.

tlbernard said:

I saw posted somewhere that parents are not able to attend BCT graduation on July 30th. My daughter believes parents are welcome to attend the Acceptance parade on 8/3/11. Would anyone be able to tell me if that is true? Her father and step-mother will be visiting her for Parents Weekend and I was going to try to fly out to see her if only for a little 1 of the 2 days but I am confused. Please help me! Thanks.

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Last year we bought food and kept it in an icechest in the trunk. After the parade we enjoyed each others company for a couple of hours. There will be specific things they may want you to bring and/or a food which they've been craving.

My husband and I attended the Acceptance Day parade and even though we only got to spend a few hours with our DS, I would definitely recommend going! Chick-fil-A opens early so we stopped in and packed chicken for a picnic - pack extra food and snacks for squadmates. Our cadet accompanied back to his dorm room where we hung out, ate lunch, met his squadmates and enjoyed his stories! We got to shop at the Cadet Store and walked through the classrooms. All the while, I got my fill of pictures, smiles and hugs!! Don't miss this experience! Your heart will EXPLODE with pride for these awesome young people who are driven by so much purpose in their lives!

Thank you all so much this is exactly what I was looking for. You have just made my day.

The parade is on Stillman Field and the parents usually start arriving around 7:45 - 8:00 am. You can usually figure out where to sit so that your cadet's squadron lines up right in front of you. Then, while sitting in the stands it is great to get to know the parents of the kids in your cadet's squadron. Even though your cadet will only get to see you for a couple of hours, you can see him from afar while they stand in line for the parade. I went to my son's A-day and it was wonderful, wouldn't have missed it! We ordered burgers from Jack in the Box the night before and picked them up at 7:00 am. They even filled our cooler with ice at no charge. If you can bring lunch with you it really helps. The lines at Subway are so long that many people don't have time to eat. We also shopped for school supplies the day before and brought them with us. The cadet store runs out of things so anything you can bring is helpful for your cadet.

what time does the parade start?

What time does the Acceptance Parade usually start and for how long? I understand it may vary, but when, approx. do we have to leave? Just wondering if I could take a flight home that night or wait until the next morning? Thank you

You can easily fly home that evening.

All visitors are required to be out of the cadet area by 1:00 pm so you can plan accordingly.

On A-Day 2008, some kindly people bought/brought a few extra cell phones so cadets without parents and/or phones could call home, their friends, etc. It was so great!

Also, my feasted that day! Tons of parents brought extra food and really they ate and ate! It was a good day for them!

Acceptance Parade

Thank you very much

My wife and I went to the Class of 2013 Acceptance Day. If you can make this work, I recommend it. We only had a few hours with our son after the ceremony, but it was fantastic watching the marching, band, and seeing your cadet get their much coveted shoulder boards placed on them. There is a forum on the AOG Webguy site and the parents get to know one another. The parents of the squadrons set up picnic lunches for their squadrons after the ceremony. This was really great. Not all parents could make the trip, so whoever went made sure to buy enough lunches for multiple new C4C cadets. We picked up about a dozen sandwiches from Quiznos to share. The several hours together were short, but very much worth it.

Get to Parents Weekend at all costs. This is over the Labor Day weekend and you should get your hotel reservations now. They will sell out and may have done so already.