AOG Bed & Breakfast

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yuxi

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Jan 8, 2018
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Can anyone share your experiences with AOG Bed and Breakfast for I-Day? How do you sign up? Will the host family pick you up at airport and drop off to Academy on I-Day? We are from east coast, went with my daughter to the appointee tour together. My DD will travel to I-Day herself, we are planning to go again on PW.
 
I cannot say enough good things about the AOG B&B program. Our son went out alone and the AOG sponsor family picked him up at the airport, gave him a good dinner, and gave him a room at their home to sleep in. The next morning they took him to in processing and made sure he had everything he needed. The sponsor dad was a classmate of my uncle at USAFA and they ended up being my son's sponsor family for his whole 4 years at USAFA. All reports that I have ever heard about the B&B program have been positive.

Stealth_81
 
Stealth_81 said:
I cannot say enough good things about the AOG B&B program. Our son went out alone and the AOG sponsor family picked him up at the airport, gave him a good dinner, and gave him a room at their home to sleep in. The next morning they took him to in processing and made sure he had everything he needed. The sponsor dad was a classmate of my uncle at USAFA and they ended up being my son's sponsor family for his whole 4 years at USAFA. All reports that I have ever heard about the B&B program have been positive.

Stealth_81
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Thank you, this helps!
 
It is a great program.

For me, having a day of mental transition from home and family to BCT helped. It would have been a bit more of a shock going from saying goodbye to the family straight to the bus. Having a couple host me for the evening helped, especially as the guy was an older 1960s grad, and could offer some experienced advice.
 
Another strong supporter of the AOG Bed & Breakfast program. DS went out for I-Day by himself. The hosts were great! They picked him up at the airport and took care of him from that point until it was time to check in at the Academy. You will sign up for the program, there will be instructions on your portal once you get your travel arrangements started.
 
Well, the program is very helpful. We were not able to get off work to travel. We are greatful for the program, but our DS experience was not as warm and fuzzy. He had a single guy stationed in the area. DS waited several hours for his ride to get off work. They picked up fast food on the way home. He slept on the sofa. I don't think he would have slept well regardless of a bed or the sofa.
Please note , while he was initially disappointed we could not travel with him; he said it was easier for him to say goodbyes at BWI then at the tent on I day. He was focused on what he needed to do. He looked over at the tent and was thankful he didn't have to deal with that emotional pull.
 
Similarily, we are from the east (just not coastal area), traveled with DS to the Appointee tour but sent him to I-Day alone. His sponsor picked him up at the airport, along with other cadets, fed them, and transported them to I-Day activities. The sponsor also came to A-Day. I think the program was very beneficial in the transition process and highly recommend it.

The goodbye at the airport was tough but I think it was better that family wasn't at I-Day. The emotions on I-Day are heavy enough for the incoming Basics without adding in family members experiencing severe allergy attacks :)):(). DS also had time during his travels to process everything and begin to mentally make the transition.
 
I'll add my support for this program. I chose to travel by myself because I knew my mom would be a wreck when we said goodbye and I wanted to have time to mentally adjust. I ended up staying with 4 other incoming basics, so I had a couple friends to share my anxiety with going in. It was a great way to get totally focused and ready for I-day and I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who thinks their family might be a tad emotional ;)
 
raimius said:
It is a great program.

For me, having a day of mental transition from home and family to BCT helped. It would have been a bit more of a shock going from saying goodbye to the family straight to the bus. Having a couple host me for the evening helped, especially as the guy was an older 1960s grad, and could offer some experienced advice.
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thanks for sharing your experience and this great post!
 
I completely agree with USAFA10s. My son and I both knew I’d be an emotional wreck when he left for BCT, so we decided together that he’d use the Bed and Breakfast program. It was the best decision he could have made because it allowed him to get his head on straight without having to deal with my emotions. His sponsor family was great. They picked him up at the airport, fed him a good dinner, gave him a comfy bed to sleep in, and got him to inprocessing the next day. It really eased my mind to know my son was in good hands. I sent a box of KY chocolates with my son to give them as a token of appreciation (we’re from KY and so were they, so I thought it would be fitting).
 
We LOVE being a host family for the Bed and Breakfast program each year! My husband is an Academy grad and our son is a 2013 grad so we're familiar with the Academy from both the "been there, done that" perspective and also the parent perspective. We pick up appointees from the airport, provide dinner and breakfast, a relaxing home environment where they are free to ask questions and/or share concerns, and a ride to In-Processing. My husband takes lots of pictures the morning of I Day to share with the appointees' parents and I provide that "good-bye, you'll do great!" hug before they go into Dolittle Hall (believe me, that good-bye hug is MUCH easier and less tear-filled when it's not your own child- ha!) If your DD or DS chooses to come to the Academy unaccompanied, we promise he/she will be in good hands :)
 
We too are on the east coast and our DS wanted to go out alone. We had a friend in COS who was a grad (but didn't know our son) and they signed up to do the B&B and requested our son by name (and our son requested them). Our friend also took in 2 other appointees and it was good for the 3 guys to meet and talk to each other a bit before reporting on I-day. Our friend took the guys shopping for large shampoos and other stuff that they didn't travel with - our son traveled with a small duffel bag he stuffed under the airplane seat. I don't remember his itinerary but think he stopped in Denver before COS -- he said the last leg of his trip was basically all appointees traveling alone.
 
USAFAMom 2013 said:
We LOVE being a host family for the Bed and Breakfast program each year! My husband is an Academy grad and our son is a 2013 grad so we're familiar with the Academy from both the "been there, done that" perspective and also the parent perspective. We pick up appointees from the airport, provide dinner and breakfast, a relaxing home environment where they are free to ask questions and/or share concerns, and a ride to In-Processing. My husband takes lots of pictures the morning of I Day to share with the appointees' parents and I provide that "good-bye, you'll do great!" hug before they go into Dolittle Hall (believe me, that good-bye hug is MUCH easier and less tear-filled when it's not your own child- ha!) If your DD or DS chooses to come to the Academy unaccompanied, we promise he/she will be in good hands :)
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thank you for the comforting words and support, I am grateful our kids have sponsor families like yours!
 
AOG is also for preppies correct? I am trying to talk my DS into using this. He is driving himself to Prep. It kills me knowing I won’t be there for the last hug but I understand his reasoning. This is a much better alternative
 
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