Would like to hear what your 5 years assignments were like.
Did you get a grad degree? How long did you serve after that?
Where were you assigned? What were your job duties? Did you have much input on where you were assigned?
What were the living arrangements like?
What did you like most/least during your 5 years?
What advantages/disadvantages did you have compared with your public college peers when job hunting?
Any other reflection?
Thanks so much for your input. It's been really helpful from other posts I've read.
In my case, the first five years probably don't answer your question. Engineering was interspersed in my total career.
I graduated from USAFA with a degree in both aeronautical engineering and mathematics. Due to overloads, I averaged 8 major courses each semester. I was one of two cadets in my class from the Aeronautics Department to go directly to graduate school - Purdue in my case. At Purdue, I was told that it was unheard of for a graduate student to take more than four courses at a time. I suspect that the rational for that traditional advice was that unlike DoD-sponsored students, most graduate students spent considerable time earning money to support themselves while in school. The USAFA study ethic and time management skills embedded in me helped my transition at Purdue.
My first impression of civilian schools was the grade inflation. I never earned a 4.00 GPA at USAFA, but getting the equivalent GPA at Purdue seemed the standard. My second observation was the relatively low academic load considered normal at a civilian university. With a few exceptions, my third observation would have been the small class sizes at USAFA when compared to Purdue. A core course at USAFA would have about 20 students, while a course required for engineering students would have anywhere from 2 to 15 students. I personally took a graduate level course at USAFA with only two students. Class sizes at Purdue seemed limited only by the number of students available. My fourth observation was with respect to access to your assigned class professor. At USAFA, I could make an appointment to see my professor on almost any day. His job was to educate cadets and not to seek research employment opportunities for financial gain. At Purdue, I tried to see an assigned professor once. After waiting in line for most of an hour, I found a professor who seemed unhappy to be required to have an hour each week when he was required to be available to students. I learned very quickly that access to the civilian professor was at odds with my experience at USAFA. My final observation was the language which would have been common to civilian students. For example, initially, I had no idea what "rushing" something meant. There was no equivalent at USAFA. I had to learn a few new words.
When I showed up in class one day in uniform (new USAF policy - once each week), it took my professors by surprise. When I told my professors that I was heading to Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) after completing a MS (Aeronautics and Astronautics), they seemed surprised because they had planned on my being around to pursue a PhD (Mechanical Engineering). USAFA had a reputation of nominating above average graduate students for Purdue.
After UPT, I was assigned to Griffiss AFB where I flew both KC-135A and T-37B aircraft. Due to my academic background, I was selected to be part of a KC-135 instructor crew assigned to Singer-Link for the contract development of a KC-135 simulator; however, the program was cancelled before we actually departed to Singer. Clearly, my academic background opened that door for me even though the USAF eventually closed that same door. I was no way near the senior KC-135 copilot in the squadron when I was selected. Later, I applied for a USAFA faculty position in the Aeronautics Department. After teaching at USAFA, I returned to rated duties this time flying the E-3 AWACS aircraft and eventually transitioning to the NATO AWACS program at Geilenkirchen, Germany. While in Europe, I was a faculty member for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's (ERAU) European program. ERAU had experienced difficulty finding someone that could teach advanced aerodynamics at the graduate level in English in Germany. I taught so that military students could graduate in a timely manner instead of having to wait for the last required course to be offered. I eventually retired from the USAF active duty after 28 years. To be brutally honest, I never expected to be a "lifer" when I graduated from USAFA; however, it was increasingly difficult over time to turn down my first choice of assignments. Clearly, that experience isn't always the case for all USAFA graduates.
After active duty retirement, I transitioned to Hanscom AFB where I worked first as an embedded contractor (flight test engineering) and later as a USAF GS civilian in the AWACS programs. The USAFA/Purdue academic preparation combined with both my AWACS flight experience and NATO service made my post-retirement career relatively easy to pursue. In particular, when I transitioned to the GS position (Lead Govt Engineer - NATO AWACS Program), the chief engineer for all AWACS programs told me that I was going to be hired without an interview. He didn't want to waste time interviewing everyone when he already knew (based on the resumes and local reputation as a contractor) who he wanted to hire.
It is hard for me to imagine what my career would have been like if I hadn't attended USAFA. My classmates and I are grateful for the opportunity to have experienced USAFA. In particular, the quality of instruction at USAFA was both top-rated and without parallel in civilian schools. The other USAFA graduation benefit was the camaraderie of being part of the Long Blue Line. To this day, I know some of my fellow graduates wherever they might be in the world better than my cul-de-sac neighbors.
