- Joined
- Nov 25, 2007
- Messages
- 9,295
Second.
Will you have been officially nominated for the job...ANYBODY want to second it?
Many of these posts are very convoluted, arrogant and judgemental.
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Others are arrogant and judgemental...
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I just don't see how ROTC kids get the same training. Mental, physical and military. These kids learn to deal with stress, in a way that ROTC kids can't.
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At least I can say this about WP. If the AFA doesn't do this then it should be shut down.
This thread is making my head spin and I am getting dizzy.
Many of these posts are very convoluted, arrogant and judgemental.
We certainly do have a wide variety of opinions expressed by parents who have never been to, or had a child attend an SA. Parents who for some reason, have a hard time stating in public that their child failed in the quest for an appointment. The whole ROTC/SA debate reminds me of my kids' T-ball team when everyone got a trophy.
Others are arrogant and judgemental about reasons for serving in the Armed Forces and spending 4 years of their collegiate education in attendance.
Reasons - the bottom line is their are as many reasons as cadets. I love talking to cadets and asking them why they CHOSE West Point. The answers are very enlightening, honest and frank and hardly ever do they start with "I want to serve my country.
Finances - those of you who think that SA kids could get a scholarship at a civilian school that would be as good as an SA are living in a dreamworld. Not every kid has a trust fund. Financial aid leaves huges gaps in finances even after federal loans are given out.
I am not ashamed to say - my daughter is glad to be given the opportunity to get a very good education, get paid for it, have a guaranteed job when she graduates and the oppotunity to serve as an Officer in the Army.
My daughter is glad she will not be encumbered by loans, like her sisters.
She is glad to be at a school where athletics is valued and she can play.
She is glad to be given an oppotunity to better herself, to push herself to limits she otherwise would not.
Some kids read the pamphlet, take a visit and just KNOW. Sometimes when they are young and sometimes in the fall of their senior year. Some kids decide at age 8 to be an astronaut and that this is their path. Some have a parent, sibling or teacher who attended that influence them. There is no RIGHT reason.
No one knows more about admissions and who has what it takes than the admissions office - they don't always "get it right" but they do very well.
Reasons for leaving - these are as varied as the reasons for attending. These are KIDS - 17-22 when they show up. They change, their lives change. Sometimes their goals change, sometimes the stress is just too much, sometimes they lack parental support back home. I would never tell a kid who wanted to attend and had second thoughts to practice chewing their food 5-7 times to see if they are cut out for the SA lifestyle. I would encourage them to live their dreams - even if they might "fail" or be seriously tested.
Benefits - I do not think anyone has mentioned TRAINING. I just don't see how ROTC kids get the same training. Mental, physical and military. These kids learn to deal with stress, in a way that ROTC kids can't.
Military training - at least for West Point, they have many more opportunities than ROTC kids have. This is probably the main reason my daughter chose West Point over ROTC.
Bottom line - The reasons the SA's exist is because they are better than ROTC - if they weren't they would be dissolved.
They push each and every kid out of their comfort zone - academically, physically and militarily. At least I can say this about WP. If the AFA doesn't do this then it should be shut down.
I've even served with a few Mustangs.
(I know they were created to train officers in the military, but I don't know why they didn't just create more academies if the case was the need of more service education). If someone knows this and could tell me, that'd be awesome- I'd like to know.
Can some current and former cadets tell me some of the pros/cons of the academy??
MONEY. Costs about $375,000 per AFA cadet to commission, SIGNIFICANTLY more than for ROTC. At only 20% of the commissioned officers coming from USAFA, that tells you that they couldn't afford to do it for everyone.