Service Academy Superintendent Nomination

HueyNation

USAFA '16
10-Year Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2011
Messages
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What are the conditions to qualify for the "Service Academy Superintendent" nomination to the service academies?
 
The vast majority will go either to those highly qualified candidates who, through no fault of their own, were unable to secure a nomination/appointment via the normal routes or to blue chip athletes under the same criteria.

The Candidate Guidance Officer told me once that any usage of the Supt's appointments, was considered, by the Admissions Dept, as a failure of the system, so probably not all 50 are utilized.
 
The vast majority will go either to those highly qualified candidates who, through no fault of their own, were unable to secure a nomination/appointment via the normal routes or to blue chip athletes under the same criteria.

The Candidate Guidance Officer told me once that any usage of the Supt's appointments, was considered, by the Admissions Dept, as a failure of the system, so probably not all 50 are utilized.

Mongo is DEAD ON ACCURATE here at least as far as the USAFA. I can't speak for any other SA.

At USAFA these are the "last last LAST resort" nomination/appointments. They're so "uncommon" that we ALO's aren't really supposed to discuss them for fear that we might give folks the impression that they always have this to "fall back upon." That is NOT the case.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Curiosity question for posters that are BGO's and ALO's.

I know that the AFA has decreased their incoming class size for 15,16 and 17. I believe I read that the USNA are also following suit, just don't know how drastically compared to the AFA.

Wouldn't you feel that this is even more important to stress now regarding the noms., due to this factor? It would appear to me that this is an area they can easily cut compared to Pres., VP, MOC, ROTC.

I did not add in USMA due to the fact that I don't know if they too have decided to decrease appointments for FY11/12. If so, please add them into the mix.

Caveat: Want to make sure everyone understands when I stated "I believe I read for USNA". Nobody flame or jump on me if what I read/heard was untrue.

Just curious to see the opinion of ALO/BGO/MALO's.
 
I believe I read that the USNA are also following suit, just don't know how drastically compared to the AFA.

Wouldn't you feel that this is even more important to stress now regarding the noms., due to this factor? It would appear to me that this is an area they can easily cut compared to Pres., VP, MOC, ROTC.

I haven't heard anything about downsizing. All Academy grads, with very few exceptions, go operational. There is no plan to decrease the number of carriers or airwings and the congressional mandate is to actually increase the surface/submarine force over the next 25 or so years by around fourty units. Maintaining treaty agreements at present requires about a 50% deployment rate. Bottom line, the Navy will require the same or even greater number of officers over the next 25 years. Smaller incoming classes in the past few years have been due to increased retention. In the event of future downsizing, initially, NROTC and OCS will be the first affected.

In answer to your second question, any cuts in order to achieve a smaller class would come from the national pool. US Code specifies how this would be done. The Supt would never give up his perk.
 
The problem with USAFA is simple: we have too many cadets.

Over the years ALL SA's predict their attrition rates based upon past performances and with a little "guesswork" for the future. USAFA did that... however...in recent years...we haven't lost "enough" cadets! :scratch:

It would appear that either we've completely neutered the program (okay I realize that OLD grad's believe that to be the case...dino's no longer walk the terrazzo, etc...etc...), been too lenient on honor violations, or something. :scratch:

I tend to think, from my years as an ALO and seeing these incredible young men and women that we've simply run into the fact that "these kids" are pretty talented; more so than in the past, and they're just doing much better! :w00t:

BUT...that's a problem because the wing is too large; it's over its legal limit and has been for some time. The Chief of Staff finally came down and said: "Get they house in order!" And a deadline was given; the end of 2012. :eek:

So...midway through the last cycle, the numbers were cut drastically. That's what caused the small entry number. And I can tell you now; next year will be worse, on the order of no more than 1050 and perhaps less, if necessary. And the next couple years after that...I wouldn't bet my pay that it'll be much better.

As for nominations, I don't think that'll change much. MoC's will nominate as normal and the numbers will be selected. I think you'll find fewer "qualified alternates" being selected to fill the class.

I don't know that any of the other SA's have had this problem...it may just be unique to USAFA. But that's what's going on in Colorado.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
I haven't heard anything about downsizing....

Bottom line, the Navy will require the same or even greater number of officers over the next 25 years....

Really? :confused: Wonder how you missed this.

Navy has a problem: too many personnel
By Jennifer McDermott

Publication: The Day

Published 06/23/2011

So many sailors are choosing to stay in the Navy rather than take their chances in a struggling economy that now the Navy will decide who gets to stay.

Sailors completing their first enlistment are staying in the Navy at a rate of 72 percent. There is no room for them to move through the ranks because not enough people are leaving.

This summer, the Navy will convene a retention board to review roughly 16,000 records and choose 3,000 sailors to leave the service earlier than they had planned. With more than 270,000 enlisted sailors serving today, that means 6 percent of the force will be evaluated and 1 percent separated.

Sailors with nuclear training will be spared because the Navy needs to retain their technical skills and because the number of these sailors is generally in line with the number of submarine jobs the Navy has to fill.

Officers, however, may not be spared.

The Navy will convene a second board in August to choose about 240 commanders and captains for early retirement, possibly including some submarine warfare officers.
The Navy cited high retention and low attrition as the reason for this review as well.

"The reason that we are letting people go is because they are not leaving the Navy on the projected rate that they normally do," Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said earlier this month at a military strategy forum.

"People are in the Navy to fill specific jobs. So it's not as if I can keep people just because I want to."

Personnel costs have the highest inflation rate because of pay and benefits. The service has to live within its means, Roughead added.

http://www.theday.com/article/20110623/NWS09/306239468/1018
 
The above referenced article has absolutely nothing to do with my initial comments. The fact that the economy causes Commander and Captain end strengthto be above mandated levels and measures are required to keep the total officer corps at the desired levels has absolutely nothing to do with the number of new Ensigns required to man the fleet. Getting rid of the excess higher ranks ac tually allows for the junior officer procurement to remain healthy.
 
The problem with USAFA is simple: we have too many cadets.

Over the years ALL SA's predict their attrition rates based upon past performances and with a little "guesswork" for the future. USAFA did that... however...in recent years...we haven't lost "enough" cadets! :scratch:

It would appear that either we've completely neutered the program (okay I realize that OLD grad's believe that to be the case...dino's no longer walk the terrazzo, etc...etc...), been too lenient on honor violations, or something. :scratch:

I tend to think, from my years as an ALO and seeing these incredible young men and women that we've simply run into the fact that "these kids" are pretty talented; more so than in the past, and they're just doing much better! :w00t:

BUT...that's a problem because the wing is too large; it's over its legal limit and has been for some time. The Chief of Staff finally came down and said: "Get they house in order!" And a deadline was given; the end of 2012. :eek:

So...midway through the last cycle, the numbers were cut drastically. That's what caused the small entry number. And I can tell you now; next year will be worse, on the order of no more than 1050 and perhaps less, if necessary. And the next couple years after that...I wouldn't bet my pay that it'll be much better.

As for nominations, I don't think that'll change much. MoC's will nominate as normal and the numbers will be selected. I think you'll find fewer "qualified alternates" being selected to fill the class.

I don't know that any of the other SA's have had this problem...it may just be unique to USAFA. But that's what's going on in Colorado.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83

Well, this is disheartening news!(I need to change my screen name, I'm a Falcon Foundation scholarship kid)

Thanks for the break down though, really appreciate it.
 
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