Acceptance Day Parade 2012. What Are The Dates?

MN-Dad-2016

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I'm looking to book our airfare for the "Acceptance Day Parade" 2012 in CO Springs. I understand the dates to be in the beginning of August (post Basic Training). I've looked on the calendar link and I don't see "Acceptance Day Parade". Any ideas?

Also, what do most families do? Do they come in for a day or two? I understand we might see my DS for a just a few hours.

Thanks!
 
I'm looking to book our airfare for the "Acceptance Day Parade" 2012 in CO Springs. I understand the dates to be in the beginning of August (post Basic Training). I've looked on the calendar link and I don't see "Acceptance Day Parade". Any ideas?

Also, what do most families do? Do they come in for a day or two? I understand we might see my DS for a just a few hours.

Thanks!

Check out the Webguy page, he says date is Aug 7th
 
I've seen Acceptance Day as August 7 on 2 different "official" pages (webguy being one) so it appears that is the date. Its slightly different timing than the previous few years (was the day before classes started, now there is a day in between).

The Acceptance Day parade begins at 9 am, so you'll definitely need to fly in the day before. I took time that day to shop for some things for my cadet (snacks, printer, a few other things he needed--they get their computers a couple days before the parade so we e-mailed). The parade lasted about an hour and a half, then comes the shoulder board ceremony (each squadron handles their own) which parents can watch. Then every squadron seemed to have a picnic, food provided by the parents attending. Some cadets and parents will choose to eat at Mitch's (dining hall), go to the book store, etc. After my son and I left his squadron picnic, we carried the stuff I brought up to his room. Generally, parents/visitors were told they could stay until about 1 pm, although some were there a bit later than that. My son's squadron had a briefing to attend at 1:30, so I did scoot out of there around 1 and flew home that evening.

In my son's squadron, I'd say about half of the new cadets had parents/family members attend. It is a very short visit, but also very moving to see them accepted in to the wing, so worthwhile I thought.
 
I've seen Acceptance Day as August 7 on 2 different "official" pages (webguy being one) so it appears that is the date. Its slightly different timing than the previous few years (was the day before classes started, now there is a day in between).

The Acceptance Day parade begins at 9 am, so you'll definitely need to fly in the day before. I took time that day to shop for some things for my cadet (snacks, printer, a few other things he needed--they get their computers a couple days before the parade so we e-mailed). The parade lasted about an hour and a half, then comes the shoulder board ceremony (each squadron handles their own) which parents can watch. Then every squadron seemed to have a picnic, food provided by the parents attending. Some cadets and parents will choose to eat at Mitch's (dining hall), go to the book store, etc. After my son and I left his squadron picnic, we carried the stuff I brought up to his room. Generally, parents/visitors were told they could stay until about 1 pm, although some were there a bit later than that. My son's squadron had a briefing to attend at 1:30, so I did scoot out of there around 1 and flew home that evening.

In my son's squadron, I'd say about half of the new cadets had parents/family members attend. It is a very short visit, but also very moving to see them accepted in to the wing, so worthwhile I thought.

Thanks for the valuable timeline information and advice.

One more question. Would you say it is more valuable to attend the drop off day (In Processing) or Acceptance Day?
 
Thanks for the valuable timeline information and advice.

One more question. Would you say it is more valuable to attend the drop off day (In Processing) or Acceptance Day?

That is a question that everyone will have many different answers depending on the cadet candidate and their family. Ask your candidate what they want. We didn't attend I-Day at our son's request. We were not planning on attending A-Day either until our son wrote in a letter and asked us to come. We drove 20 hours (one way) at the last minute to be there for the A-Day Parade and it is one of the best memories that we have from his time at USAFA.

Stealth_81
 
Thanks for the valuable timeline information and advice.

One more question. Would you say it is more valuable to attend the drop off day (In Processing) or Acceptance Day?

Concur with Stealth. We attended both events.

I-Day
We dropped DS off as a family. We enjoyed meeting people in the long line (it will be different this year with the scheduled reporting times) a Doolittle Hall. A heartfelt good-bye watching DS going up the steps for in-processing was followed by waiting for him to cross the Challenge Bridge. We spotted DS and watched him get on the bus. Then it was over and we went to the Colorado Parents' Club sponsored BBQ for lunch. It was a great experience for the family.

For A-Day, I flew out alone and had an experience similar to AFAYahoo. If you can afford to do both, go for it, but as Stealth said; ask your cadet what they want.
 
Thanks for the valuable timeline information and advice.

One more question. Would you say it is more valuable to attend the drop off day (In Processing) or Acceptance Day?

That's a tough one, but I agree with Stealth that it should depend on your son. In our son's mind there was no question that he wanted us there for I Day. Our family took a mini-vacation before In Processing and spent some time touring around Colorado Springs before taking our son to the AFA (plus he had a few days to start acclimating to the altitude). He probably ended up being a little bit more nervous than he anticipated so we didn't pack the days with tons of activities, just had more down time than a typical vacation. Last year on In Processing day, there seemed to be more new basics with parents than without, but there were definitely many that came alone and did the Bed and Breakfast program. I'm glad our son wanted us there, as it would have killed me to miss it! Watching him walk up the stairs, and then get on the bus are special memories.

For Acceptance Day, I went alone as my husband couldn't take any more time off work and it was expensive for what amounted to a 36 hour visit to Colorado. The time you get to spend with your son and his new friends/squadmates will be short, but it is wonderful. They are so proud of having made it through Basic, happy to share stories and ready to start the next phase (classes). The parade/ceremonies/picture opportunties are very meaningful and I'm glad I was fortunate enough to be able to go. Personally, I felt like some of the cadets whose parents couldn't attend felt a bit blue, even though everyone made sure to include them in pictures, hugs, high fives, etc and shared phones so they could call home too.
 
Heads Up!

My husband is also planning on flying out for Acceptance Day. I just called the Academy this afternoon to verify the date that has been posted on here and was told that Acceptance Day is Wednesday, August 8th by someone in the Commandant's Office. I haven't seen it posted "officially" anywhere and wanted to check to be certain before making airline reservations. So.....August 7th or 8th?? Just wanted to give you a heads up that I've just now heard two different things.....
 
My husband is also planning on flying out for Acceptance Day. I just called the Academy this afternoon to verify the date that has been posted on here and was told that Acceptance Day is Wednesday, August 8th by someone in the Commandant's Office. I haven't seen it posted "officially" anywhere and wanted to check to be certain before making airline reservations. So.....August 7th or 8th?? Just wanted to give you a heads up that I've just now heard two different things.....

^Thanks for the update! I will hold out a little longer on making arrangements. Two years ago I did a 24 hour turn around for A-day C/O 2014. Just a rental car and airline ticket. Slept for a few hours in the car, then went shopping for A-day.:yllol: Very Crazy
 
My husband is also planning on flying out for Acceptance Day. I just called the Academy this afternoon to verify the date that has been posted on here and was told that Acceptance Day is Wednesday, August 8th by someone in the Commandant's Office. I haven't seen it posted "officially" anywhere and wanted to check to be certain before making airline reservations. So.....August 7th or 8th?? Just wanted to give you a heads up that I've just now heard two different things.....

In recent hisory it has been on a Wednesday?
 
All if at all possible attend both I Day and A Day. My husband was not originally planning to attend A Day but at the last minute we booked the flight and our DS was sooooo happy to see his Dad. I Day was an amazing experience for all and even if your DS or DD thinks they want to do it alone you can still attend just stay at a distance. These are really smart independent young men and women who may think they know but I promise you, truly don't know the emotions for both those days. It is something they can never anticipate no matter how hard they try. Our DS is VERY independent and non-emotional, he was also a Falcon and did not care about whether we attended I Day. He saw it more for us but he said he would take us along again! Then for A Day he sooooo wanted to see a familiar face. One that would give him a hug vs yell :) And he was sooooo proud! He wouldn't stop talking and that is so not like him. He is also not a big smiler but the ear to ear grin was priceless. For both, while they may appear to not want you to go now in the end no one 4 dig now would change their parents experiencing these events with them! Best of Luck class of 2016!
 
All if at all possible attend both I Day and A Day. My husband was not originally planning to attend A Day but at the last minute we booked the flight and our DS was sooooo happy to see his Dad. I Day was an amazing experience for all and even if your DS or DD thinks they want to do it alone you can still attend just stay at a distance. These are really smart independent young men and women who may think they know but I promise you, truly don't know the emotions for both those days. It is something they can never anticipate no matter how hard they try. Our DS is VERY independent and non-emotional, he was also a Falcon and did not care about whether we attended I Day. He saw it more for us but he said he would take us along again! Then for A Day he sooooo wanted to see a familiar face. One that would give him a hug vs yell :) And he was sooooo proud! He wouldn't stop talking and that is so not like him. He is also not a big smiler but the ear to ear grin was priceless. For both, while they may appear to not want you to go now in the end no one 4 dig now would change their parents experiencing these events with them! Best of Luck class of 2016!


^^^^^^^^^^ Same as Karek! :thumb:
 
Aslo puzzled about dates

Just adding my query as to whether Acceptance day is the first Weds in August (1 Aug), 7 August as quoted below, or 8 August as told to someone in this thread by the Academy. Since we are new parents to the USAFA, I suppose the bigger question is: where do we go to find out these kinds of dates and details??
Thanks!
 
It is very confusing this year--2 different dates for A Day by 2 different offices at the academy. The official calendars can be accessed at www.usafa.edu, and then click on Dean, then Academic Calendars. But neither the fall nor summer calendars list A Day. The phone # listed as a contact is 719-333-3451, so maybe give that a try. At least the last few years, A Day has been on a Wednesday before classes start the next day on Thursday, which would lead one to believe its Aug. 8 this year. But the AOG/webguy (the Association of Graduates branch of the AFA) has posted Aug. 7 as the date, and say they got the calendar from their liaison at the AFA. I would want to nail this down before making travel arrangements to avoid those change fees!
 
It is very confusing this year--2 different dates for A Day by 2 different offices at the academy. The official calendars can be accessed at www.usafa.edu, and then click on Dean, then Academic Calendars. But neither the fall nor summer calendars list A Day. The phone # listed as a contact is 719-333-3451, so maybe give that a try. At least the last few years, A Day has been on a Wednesday before classes start the next day on Thursday, which would lead one to believe its Aug. 8 this year. But the AOG/webguy (the Association of Graduates branch of the AFA) has posted Aug. 7 as the date, and say they got the calendar from their liaison at the AFA. I would want to nail this down before making travel arrangements to avoid those change fees!
You may know that someone called the commandants office recently and was told Aug 8th....
 
It is definitely always a Wed and while I know from experience it can be difficult if you are trying to cut it close on travel arrangements, as parents teh best advice most of us can offer is patience and flexibility. These will serve you well as you enter into this journey! :)

We too are planners and have learned to delay making arrangements till last opportunity even if it costs $20 more or be willing to pay that change fee, or answer the phone at midnite if your cadet calls, or patiently wait by the phone when your cadet cannot call, learn how to use facebook if you have not already and so on............. :shake:

This is a journey like no other and the less pressure you can put on your cadet and the more deep breaths you can take the better off you all will be! Some things will not make sense to those of us who have not been in a military environment. But patience and flexibility are the keys! :thumb:
 
It is very confusing this year--2 different dates for A Day by 2 different offices at the academy. The official calendars can be accessed at www.usafa.edu, and then click on Dean, then Academic Calendars. But neither the fall nor summer calendars list A Day. The phone # listed as a contact is 719-333-3451, so maybe give that a try. At least the last few years, A Day has been on a Wednesday before classes start the next day on Thursday, which would lead one to believe its Aug. 8 this year. But the AOG/webguy (the Association of Graduates branch of the AFA) has posted Aug. 7 as the date, and say they got the calendar from their liaison at the AFA. I would want to nail this down before making travel arrangements to avoid those change fees!
I made a call to the Academy and spoke with the Sargeant that handles marching, parades, etc. He told me that the Association of Graduates sets the date for Acceptance Day and that this year it will be on Tuesday August 7. In the past it had been on a Wednesday, but this year, like everything else, it is different.
 
I made a call to the Academy and spoke with the Sargeant that handles marching, parades, etc. He told me that the Association of Graduates sets the date for Acceptance Day and that this year it will be on Tuesday August 7. In the past it had been on a Wednesday, but this year, like everything else, it is different.

That makes sense that the AOG schedules A-day because from what I have learned they gather as many of their fellow grads to come out for A-day. My other understanding is that the AOG attempts to gather those from the class that graduated 50 years ago, in this case they will gather as many they can from the Class of 1962 to Accept the Class of 2016 into the Cadet Wing.

Someone please correct me if I have misstated anything here.
 
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