Current State of the Academy

Stormbird said:
My son just came home. He was disgusted with the whole recognition process. He was definitely not alone in his feelings. The firsties from what I
understand were also pretty disgusted.

No doubt the Doolies were happy to cruise through except for the Cadets like the OP, and I hear this from other kids whose parents were grads as they also expected something more challenging, better, and more in line with what a military academy should be, not a D E I experiment.

And on top of that the entire Cadet Wing was held hostage from spring break unless they signed a release that allowed the academy unfettered access to their social networks.

The school has gone to hell. My son tells me nobody cares anymore, there's no pride- they just hunker down and hope they don't get hit by a DEI arrow.

I would love to tell you what his AOC told her first classmen about her tour there, but that's a whole other thread, and it's enough to make me sick to my stomach.


Pretty sure I'm going to cancel the endowment I had planned on leaving to usafa. I know the pendulum swings, but there's a political cancer, and it's spreading. God help our young grads.
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I totally understand where you're coming from as well as other cadets that are disgusted by how the leadership handled recognition this year as well as the whole intensity of 4th class development. However, I have a slightly different perspective on this.

Recogniton is definitely a huge milestone for USAFA cadets and for sure an invaluable experience and tradition us. However, I think it comes with many downsides as well. I think the CW puts too much emphasis on recognition in a way that it makes many cadets think that once rec is over, their officer development is over. It is almost like being under total oppression and gaining all the freedom back at once. No wonder cadets fall into dirtbag mindsets.

This is where the upperclassmen hypocricy comes into play. The 4th class system at USAFA is problematic in a sense that many recognized cadets think that their part of development is over and therefore become too relaxed. However, they still think the 4 degrees deserve to be trained harshly. So what ends up happening is many upperclassmen enforce strict standards on the 4 degrees while they themselves don't follow them. Some cadets stop caring about officer development entirely and become dirtbags. Based on my semester exchange experience at USMA, where the standards and discipline applies stricter on the upperclass cadets, I came to a conclusion that 4th class system is doing more harm than good. USMA's plebes are not held to a relatively relaxed standards than USAFA doolies but they lack a monumental event such as recognition which results in progressive and steady gaining of priviliges instead of sprint to a stop like at USAFA.

I agree that the leadership could be doing better but at least I think USAFA is going in the right direction. Instead of heavy emphasis on 4th class development, I think an overall 4 class development where cadets get challenged all 4 years throughout the academy is better. I think these are inevitable growth pain that occurs when we pursue change.
 
Rome said:
Yeah, I agree, but as someone who is considering going to USAFA, the specific commentary about how much it sucks rn is alarming.
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You also have to consider the forum as there are many cadets who might believe it could be harder or more military but who still cherish the opportunity and the experience that still differentiates USAFA from the other SAs and "normal" universities. Out of over 4000 cadets at USAFA and their families there is only a small cross section on here and this particular thread will obviously draw the ones less than happy without commentary from the others. I'm just saying that this should all be taken as it's intended and not to base your decision on what seems to be happening right now and could change in a heartbeat or a vote. Good luck with your ultimate decision and remember that one day you too will be lamenting the fact that "cadets these days don't have it as tough as I did" :cool: That's one of the "rights" of being a grad from whichever academy you attended.
 
In life, people complain more than they praise. A content person isn’t going to go out of their way to post on a forum, but an unhappy, disgruntled one is much more likely to.

How much praise do you lay upon your parents? How much complaining do you do to your parents? Its basic human nature to speak out when unhappy, vs quietly go about your day when content.

If you are considering USAFA, and are alarmed, find a way to visit and/or speak with cadets. There are two sides to a story. If you need to talk to a cadet, PM and I can connect you.

There are issues/problems everywhere. Always. In every work environment. But don’t make potential life altering decisions without doing your own research. Dont make your decision based upon an anonymous forum.
 
I would have to say that definitely, my earlier post was a classic rant. I guess we grads and parents of grads and current cadets may internalize and be more sensitive to that swing of the pendulum more than others.

There is great wisdom in many of the posts here. And surely USAFA is not alone in experiencing that swing of the pendulum.

Military families are the leading resource of recruitment into the military, but never before have I seen so many discourage their children from joining, and this is reflected across all the branches.

There's a major disconnect in the philosophy of what our military should be. I grew up being taught that the military should not be a reflection of society but should be held to a sticter moral character and higher ideals because of the public trust placed in us where sanctioned violence may be used in pursuit of national objectives.

Should our future officers be taught to be a reflection of society, or should they be held to a higher standard? That should be addressed when deciding how to train the cadet wing, from BCT to graduation.
 
Stormbird said:
I would have to say that definitely, my earlier post was a classic rant. I guess we grads and parents of grads and current cadets may internalize and be more sensitive to that swing of the pendulum more than others.

There is great wisdom in many of the posts here. And surely USAFA is not alone in experiencing that swing of the pendulum.

Military families are the leading resource of recruitment into the military, but never before have I seen so many discourage their children from joining, and this is reflected across all the branches.

There's a major disconnect in the philosophy of what our military should be. I grew up being taught that the military should not be a reflection of society but should be held to a sticter moral character and higher ideals because of the public trust placed in us where sanctioned violence may be used in pursuit of national objectives.

Should our future officers be taught to be a reflection of society, or should they be held to a higher standard? That should be addressed when deciding how to train the cadet wing, from BCT to graduation.
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Well said…
MG Moga had the right approach in my opinion. I would love to see him return as the Superintendent!
 
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