Memorizing things before I Day

Runner2014

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
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27
Does anyone know if things have to be memorized before I Day (the stuff found in the Contrails book)? I cannot find anything in the appointee packet. Would it be smart to start memorizing things now?


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Memorize this

Memorize this: Thousands of men and women have gone through the exact same thing you're going through; they've all had the same doubts, they've all asked themselves whether it's worth it, and thousands of men and women have come out the other side as second lieutenants. If they can do it, so can you. Enjoy the moment, be grateful, and four years will go by before you know it.

Congratulations and. until I-Day, be a teenager and refrain from doing something stupid. Go Falcons.
 
I'm with everyone else. Enjoy the time while it lasts!
 
If you would feel more comfortable memorizing something, go for it. It's not needed, as you will have classmates who have zero knowledge of what will be required. If you DO memorize ahead of time, do not "show off" when it's time to show what you know. There is no bonus for showing up your classmates.

The choice is yours either way.
 
Memorize this: Thousands of men and women have gone through the exact same thing you're going through; they've all had the same doubts, they've all asked themselves whether it's worth it, and thousands of men and women have come out the other side as second lieutenants. If they can do it, so can you. Enjoy the moment, be grateful, and four years will go by before you know it.

Congratulations and. until I-Day, be a teenager and refrain from doing something stupid. Go Falcons.

^^^^^^^ THIS!

In fact, this piece of advice belongs in the "Top 10 All-Time posts ever on SAF" list. I'll simply add one last piece to it: the AFA wouldn't have offered you an appointment if they didn't feel you would make it and eventually be a good officer in the AF. THEY believe in you, so you should as well.....
 
Memorize this: Thousands of men and women have gone through the exact same thing you're going through; they've all had the same doubts, they've all asked themselves whether it's worth it, and thousands of men and women have come out the other side as second lieutenants. If they can do it, so can you. Enjoy the moment, be grateful, and four years will go by before you know it.



Congratulations and. until I-Day, be a teenager and refrain from doing something stupid. Go Falcons.



This is great. Thank you for the advice everyone!!! Little more than 1 month left...





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I don't think it's a horrible idea. It will give you a leg up and immerse you in the culture sooner.

If you decide to memorize anything, here's what I would recommend:

Listen to the Air Force song on YouTube; memorizing it won't be harder than memorizing the lyrics to your favorite song.

Sir, the 7 basic responses are as follows: "1.Yes, sir! (or Ma'am, as appropriate)
2. No, sir!
3. No excuse, sir!
4. Sir, may I ask a question?
5. Sir, may I make a statement?
6. Sir, I do not understand!
7. Sir, I do not know!"

Without a word, this uniform also whispers of freezing troops, injured bodies, and Americans left forever in foreign fields. It documents every servicemen’s courage who by accepting this uniform promises the one gift he truly has to give his life. I wear my uniform for the heritage of sacrifice it represents and more. I wear my uniform with pride for it represents the greatest nation of free people in the world.Captain Karen Dorman Kimmel

High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
"Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds -
and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of -
wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along
and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.

"Up, up the long delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
where never lark, or even eagle, flew;
and, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
put out my hand and touched the face of God."
That last one trips people up at first, but if you figure out that it's a sonnet and has an A-B rhyming format, you can get it down easily.


Anyway, best of luck! I'm pulling for you, my friend.
 
I wouldn't memorize things ahead of time. You'll have enough time during BCT to memorize, and honestly, one of the skills you should take away from basic is the ability to memorize relatively quickly and under stress.

If you want to do anything to prepare for basic, work out. Some of the best advice I've gotten here is that "you can't cram for a fitness test." Building and maintaining a solid base of fitness will help you throughout your cadet career.
 
What you're going to find, any time this question comes up, is a general split.

One camp says have fun and enjoy your remaining days of carefree (but not TOO carefree) fun. They will tell you that part of the summer training is performing under pressure. They will tell you that you and your classmates will be given the time to learn and memorize.

The other camp will tell you that there's no harm in memorizing things, if you want to. They will tell you if you memorize now, there will be less to memorize later. And they will tell you taking the initiative now is a good thing.

Both camps are right. I had a good time before I reported to the Coast Guard Academy. As we got closer to R-Day I could feel my life excellerating (times like this I wish SAF had spell check.... but you know the word I'm going for here if this is spelled wrong) toward real change. The closer it got the more worried I was (and excited.... but I cannot understate "worried").

I memorized the "Mission of the United States Coast Guard Academy" and "How's the Cow". And on R-Day, with a 2/c cadet in my face, quickly forgot how to spew both, "loud and proud."

Did I show initiative in learning it early? Maybe. Did I have a leg up on my classmates? Maybe for a few minutes. Did I have enough time to memorize what I needed to memorize? Certainly didn't feel like it, but I did.

The truth of the matter is, cadre will have swabs or freshmen will all kinds of experiences. Some are former enlisted. Some are NAPSters or Prepsters, and they've had some of the training. Whatever the prior experience of the new freshman, rest assured cadre know how to challenge them. They know how to "break" and "build". And you should find comfort that at the end of the day, your cadre will want you to succeed and will free great pride when you overcome challenges and succeed. Your failure is their failure to properly train you.

I don't think I would have had more "fun" if I hadn't memorized some of my required indoc. I also don't think it really put me at an advantage either.

You get to an academy on your own, with the input and help of the family, friends and mentors around you. You make it through and academy as a class, you start and finish together and in the process you form life-long bonds.

The summer at any academy is not fun, but I can promise you this, you will have some VERY entertaining stories to tell when it's all said and done.
 
I don't think I would have had more "fun" if I hadn't memorized some of my required indoc. I also don't think it really put me at an advantage either.

:thumb: I had some things memorized by BMT, but it didn't make me any less of a target. You don't start out with quizzes or questions, and you are given the material before you are expected to know it (even if only 5 minutes or 5 seconds before). At least such was the case at BMT. I look forward to BCT and all 4 years, but truthfully everyone brings different strengths to USAFA (memory might not be everyone's forte). I am on the side that advocates memorizing things, but if pressure will make you forget them, you'll be learning them again through stress.
 
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