Good day everyone, my DS received the bad news in early February "Complete Disqualified", he looked me right in the face with the tears in his eyes and said I am re-applying. That is the kind of young man he is, and I could not be more proud of him, but it is really hard for me to be supportive and to go through this all again as the application and wait is grueling. Not going to ask the question "What are his chances?" I have read and heard the Academy loves it when candidates reapply, take it for what it is. He has no one to blame for this but himself (I will never tell him this, I would never kick a person little alone my own son when they are down). He failed his CFA, I had told him in early July 2018 to get to work as the physical demands of the CFA are looked at closely at USAFA due to the altitude, he did not start working on it until late October, to his credit he did well on upper body strength and the shuttle run, but failed the mile going 9:00 the first time and 8:30 minutes on the re-take. I know all candidates are different, but at a luncheon this last Sunday (2/17) a third year cadet made the statement "When I first entered USAFA I could only do 3 pull-ups", I thought the bear minimum was 12 or it was an automatic fail, trying not to sound like that parent, but that really through me for a loop. I do not believe in entitlement we all have to work for what we have, and with the Academy this is especially true.
Everything was there 4.8 GPA, 1300 SAT, Varsity baseball team, Varsity Rugby player, etc. 4 AP classes 2 Honors Classes, letter of recommendation from an active Lt. General of the AF Joint Staff, numerous leadership roles both in the community and at church, member of the national honor society, took 3rd in state 2017-2018 chess team going undefeated (1st in school history), and 6-1-0 at State 2018-2019 season. I do not mean to sound like I am bragging, just sharing his background and accolades to share with other candidates, and what gets passed over during appointments.
I am reaching out to parents of candidates and appointees how do I support him going forward? Even if he max's out of the CFA this year, and has all the previous accolades, he is still more than likely going to not be accepted and that is difficult to support. He is not used to always succeeding, he failed to make the HS baseball team Freshman year and rebounded Sophomore year, becoming team captain Jr. and Senior year, so he understands what he needs to do. My issue is that alot of kids apply and only a handful get in, how do I support him going forward believing this will happen again?
He is considering ROTC, but I can tell that is not where his heart is at. It longs for Colorado Springs, CO. I apologize if any of this sounds bitter in any way, I just need to reach out to the community for help as friends and family just will not understand, thank you and God Bless you all, and congratulations to all who did receive appointments for the class of 2023.