Female Perspective of USAF?

Friesian101

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
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Any girls out there? How is the Air Force Academy from a female perspective? Are my mood swing going to be a problem?
 
HAHAHA, probably not a big one unless your talking clinical, then being "low" combined with stress could be pretty rough.

I am a female grad (2012). I loved it, and before you ask, I felt very safe there. Any specific questions?
 
Do your male counterparts look down upon you? What is the aspect of that?
 
Haha not clinical. Just those awesome monthly "gifts" we get.

And I'm not afraid or have any problem with the men at all. I just meant more a long the lines of...

Do we have to get our hair cut short?
 
Oh wow that was exactly what a was looking for. Sorry for posting this guys... *slams head onto desk*
I should try searching for things before I start new threads...
 
HAHAHA, probably not a big one unless your talking clinical, then being "low" combined with stress could be pretty rough.

I am a female grad (2012). I loved it, and before you ask, I felt very safe there. Any specific questions?

You were there after changes were implemented in the wake of the 2003 sexual assault scandal.
1. What advice would you give an incoming female basic without any military background regarding this concern?
2. Do you honestly feel that the changes made were enough to address the issues?
3.What were your thoughts going in five years ago knowing that such threat existed in the academy?
4. There are still publicized cases as recent as just a few months ago, how can you reassure an incoming female basic that "you felt very safe"?

Thank you for your willingness to share your input.
 
24601:
I'm not a female cadet, but my daughter is a C4C. I have zero military background and was very concerned about the atmosphere for women when my daughter was applying. I read the last 2 congressional reports regarding sexual harassment and prevention at the military academies and i was glad to see that USAFA was the most progressive and proactive in addressing the issue of reporting, counseling and investigation. Their numbers of incidents reported are higher at USAFA, but the findings indicated that this is because the culture of zero tolerance for sexual harassment and assault is also higher at USAFA.
Many here will tell you that the females have relationships with males like brothers, and that is true to a great extent. But my daughter has had more than her share of being "hit on" and has modified her general demeanor somewhat (she is a very happy outgoing person) to make sure she is not misunderstood. She also avoids any situation involving partying. If you read the congressional report appendices, all of the incidents reported involved very intoxicated men and women off base (these things can start as innocently as sharing a cabin or hotel for skiing or something like that).
So I'm sure the female cadets on this forum can give you better insight, but I thought I'd share with you my findings from my own research and my own daughter's experience. Best of luck to you!
 
All right, here we go.

1. I had pretty much zero military background going in, I didn't even know USAFA existed until my Sophomore year in high school. My best advice regarding this issue in a training environment is to pay attention at all the endless sexual harassment/assault briefings you get during in-processing and the first couple days. They will make it clear just how serious USAFA is about its zero tolerance policy and tell you exactly how you can get help if it is needed. If there are still concerns, then ask questions. They typically split off the girls for a separate briefing (or two or three or four) for the express purpose of making sure it is a safe, comfortable environment to talk and ask questions. Outside a training environment like basic/freshman year, my advice is the same as for normal college and melindayching hit the nail on the head. Be safe when drinking, if your going to go share a cabin for skiing, make sure you share it with people you know and trust, and avoid getting too drunk to take care of yourself (I personally don't drink at all, but that is an exception, not the norm)

2. YES. While I didn't experience what it was like before, the whole culture is one of protecting and zero tolerance up and down the chain of command.

3. Honestly I was determined to go no matter what and looking back, I didn't really give it much thought until I got there and experienced endless hours of sexual assault briefings. Now looking back I can see why my mom was so worried, but from my perspective the culture of zero tolerance was one of the first things we "learned" in basic and it was very apparent that I had the right to keep myself safe, and I knew how to do it, although like I said, I felt very safe there and never encountered any problems.

4. The vast majority of cadets are great people who really care about each other and you can feel that atmosphere there. I don't know how to explain it, and I don't have any great personal examples where someone stepped in to stop something, but I know that the people I hung out with would have if needed.

In summary, I don't have any real evidence for why I felt safe, that is why it is a feeling, but IMHO the academy has done an amazing job of making resources available and accessible and building a strong culture against any form of sexual harassment or assault.
 
All right, here we go.

1. I had pretty much zero military background going in, I didn't even know USAFA existed until my Sophomore year in high school. My best advice regarding this issue in a training environment is to pay attention at all the endless sexual harassment/assault briefings you get during in-processing and the first couple days. They will make it clear just how serious USAFA is about its zero tolerance policy and tell you exactly how you can get help if it is needed. If there are still concerns, then ask questions. They typically split off the girls for a separate briefing (or two or three or four) for the express purpose of making sure it is a safe, comfortable environment to talk and ask questions. Outside a training environment like basic/freshman year, my advice is the same as for normal college and melindayching hit the nail on the head. Be safe when drinking, if your going to go share a cabin for skiing, make sure you share it with people you know and trust, and avoid getting too drunk to take care of yourself (I personally don't drink at all, but that is an exception, not the norm)

2. YES. While I didn't experience what it was like before, the whole culture is one of protecting and zero tolerance up and down the chain of command.

3. Honestly I was determined to go no matter what and looking back, I didn't really give it much thought until I got there and experienced endless hours of sexual assault briefings. Now looking back I can see why my mom was so worried, but from my perspective the culture of zero tolerance was one of the first things we "learned" in basic and it was very apparent that I had the right to keep myself safe, and I knew how to do it, although like I said, I felt very safe there and never encountered any problems.

4. The vast majority of cadets are great people who really care about each other and you can feel that atmosphere there. I don't know how to explain it, and I don't have any great personal examples where someone stepped in to stop something, but I know that the people I hung out with would have if needed.

In summary, I don't have any real evidence for why I felt safe, that is why it is a feeling, but IMHO the academy has done an amazing job of making resources available and accessible and building a strong culture against any form of sexual harassment or assault.

That's good to know. Thank you very much.
I have a few more questions if you don't mind?

1. Going in as a basic, did you know what you were going to major in?
2. Did you have to switch or alter your plans?(i.e. To fly or not?)
3. With over 30 majors to choose from, what were the tendencies towards which major did most females in your class end up in?
4. Are non-techies(non engineering, non-cyber) looked down on?
5. I have gathered that Management or English majors are where most end up in-is this true?
6. Did you do any athletics? Is being a NARP OK?
 
1. No clue. I knew something technical and I liked math in high school but I really didn't decide on my majors (yes, plural) until the end of freshman year (I did a double major in Physics in Math in case I didn't mention that already)
2. Yes, but I wouldn't say I had to. I went in unsure of what I wanted and thinking I probably wanted to fly, but after hanging out with a fighter squadron and an F-16 ride, I decided that while flying is awesome, it probably wasn't the path for me.
3. Hard to say, but I know Biology had a lot more girls than you would expect, also Foreign Area Studies was a popular one, but I would say gender lines in academic majors are very unimportant, I didn't usually notice that I was the only or maybe one of two girls in a class until someone pointed it out.
4. No, not really. Management is known for being easy but that's about it. It's more a matter of preference. The non-techie majors know they wouldn't enjoy technical work and the techies typically would hate the amount of writing involved in fuzzy majors
5. Management is very popular as I mentioned above, but without having the numbers in front of me, I really can't say. I don't think english is as popular at USAFA as other colleges.
6. I was an IC tennis player my first two years (recruited) and a NARP my last two years. It is fine to be a NARP as long as you workout and still do well on fitness tests and training. Being an IC was a huge time commitment and while it was a great opportunity, I did miss out on a lot of squadron events and bonding. And to keep this thread on topic, it is even more important as a girl TO STAY IN SHAPE. Don't shoot for minimums on the PFT/AFT, shoot for the maxes. No one expects us to do as many push-ups as the guys, but being in reasonable shape is important if you want to be respected (this is true for both guys and girls of course, but is just more commonly a problem with girls)
 
I appreciate your prompt reply. Thanks much. :angel:
It's great to get first hand info on what to expect and how to prepare.
 
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