AF Mentor MIA

M

mijohnst

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Joined
Nov 22, 2022
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We've been wondering about the mentor's purpose when applying for the USAFA. My DS has sent several lengthy emails about his application completions and status improvements but his mentor has never responded. We know we have the correct contact information because we know someone else that he seems to be corresponding with. I thought the mentor keeps up with whoever is assigned and reports to USAFA about them. Is that not true? If this is true, he hasn't done a thing to help him. Should we request that he get transferred to someone else? We're just not sure what to do.

I've said in another thread, but recruiting at USAFA doesn't seem to do anything compared to the other academies.
 
My DS (CL 27) has the same problem. The entire application process the mentor ALO is missing in action. We later heard that he is active duty flying around somewhere that might me why is is MIA. The first ALO my DS talked to is the evaluator ALO in the interview and luckily everything went smoothly.
 
My mentor ALO was helpful in answering questions on the application and he scheduled a call to prep me on the interview that was going to occur with my evaluator ALO to make sure I was ready. The mentor ALO also kept me in the loop and forwarded local events in my area. Initially, my evaluator ALO was not responsive, so the mentor ALO put me in contact with him. My issue was an email system problem - not all services accept all email addresses and it might be getting put into a spam folder. Eventually, we figured it out, but just keep that in mind. Even if you know someone else who has been in contact with your mentor, can be different for all email systems. My evaluator ALO wanted to make sure I asked all my application/detail questions to my mentor ALO and have contact with him prior to contacting the evaluator ALO. Once I had my interview, my evaluator ALO has been in contact and he has been the one answering any questions I have. I think it is all preference and based upon what you need. Hope that helps.
 
Mentor ALOs are all over the place. My class of 25 boy had a fantastic mentor ALO. He retired. To call my class of 27 son's ALO useless would be unkind to the word useless.
 
I appreciate all of your input on this. I'm wondering if he should go ahead and request a different mentor. He sent another email (a 3rd one) this past weekend, and still nothing back from him. I know he's a retired LT. Col, so he's not deployed anywhere.
 
mijohnst said:
I appreciate all of your input on this. I'm wondering if he should go ahead and request a different mentor. He sent another email (a 3rd one) this past weekend, and still nothing back from him. I know he's a retired LT. Col, so he's not deployed anywhere.
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What does your son actually need from this person?

My son received an email from his ALO back when he applied, with bolded, underlined words basically saying ‘everything you need is in the instructions. Don’t bother me if you question can be found in the instructions. Which it can’. Or something to that affect (he never had to reach out).

My sons ALO was not interested in hand-holding. Is you son able to find the information he is looking for, elsewhere?
 
I guess maybe we have a misunderstanding about what a mentor is for. We *thought* that a mentor was to help guide and advocate for their applicants. If their job is to just answer questions, our DS can quit wasting his time trying to update him and ask for advice. Maybe we're trying to reach out to the wrong person, but we were under the impression that he's supposed to be keeping someone in the USAFA in the loop about progress and accomplishments during the application process. We apparently don't know who that is.
 
mijohnst said:
I guess maybe we have a misunderstanding about what a mentor is for. We *thought* that a mentor was to help guide and advocate for their applicants. If their job is to just answer questions, our DS can quit wasting his time trying to update him and ask for advice. Maybe we're trying to reach out to the wrong person, but we were under the impression that he's supposed to be keeping someone in the USAFA in the loop about progress and accomplishments during the application process. We apparently don't know who that is.
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I thought the ALO was like the Navy’s BGO.

At Navy - my son updated admissions with new accomplishments. Not sure what progress means.
 
mijohnst said:
I guess maybe we have a misunderstanding about what a mentor is for. We *thought* that a mentor was to help guide and advocate for their applicants. If their job is to just answer questions, our DS can quit wasting his time trying to update him and ask for advice. Maybe we're trying to reach out to the wrong person, but we were under the impression that he's supposed to be keeping someone in the USAFA in the loop about progress and accomplishments during the application process. We apparently don't know who that is.
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I’ve never heard about anyone who does this during the USAFA application process. The mentor ALO is supposed to answer questions and the evaluator ALO interviews the candidate and submits that interview to admissions. When DS#1 had new accomplishments, he sent them directly to Team Silver.

DS#1 received 2 emails from his mentor ALO. After he sent an intro email with his resume, mentor ALO replied, “Good luck and I hope you play sports.” The second was a query asking ds to send his Instructions to Candidates to the mentor ALO.

DS#2 has not received anything, but hasn’t asked any questions, either.
 
My DS didn't receive a response from his assigned Mentor ALO even after reaching out multiple times. The assigned Mentor ALO was/is a pilot at the Air National Guard Base that I retired from, so I reached out to the base commander. The Mentor ALO quickly responded back that he hadn't been part of the ALO program for a couple years, but the AF Academy keeps assigning him to applicants. My DS reached out to Team Silver to get a new Mentor ALO, multiple times after this, each time they said they would assign him a new mentor ALO, however they never did. My DS was still selected as a Preppie last year and is now a Doolie/class of 27. Adapt and overcome! :) If you have questions check with Team Silver/Blue first, then if needed ask here.
 
mijohnst said:
I guess maybe we have a misunderstanding about what a mentor is for. We *thought* that a mentor was to help guide and advocate for their applicants. If their job is to just answer questions, our DS can quit wasting his time trying to update him and ask for advice. Maybe we're trying to reach out to the wrong person, but we were under the impression that he's supposed to be keeping someone in the USAFA in the loop about progress and accomplishments during the application process. We apparently don't know who that is.
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The ALO can answer questions. Some ALOs are busy and may not have much time even for that. No one needs to be in the loop for application progress or accomplishments at USAFA or any college. Your application will speak for itself. If something extraordinary happens like you win an Olympic gold medal after applications are in then you can update USAFA. You should have a silver team liason for that.
 
My DS mentor ALO was of zero help. Mentor ALO spoke once to my DS and told him there are stronger packages than his with several recruited athletes in the district/state, pretty much telling my DS he wouldn't make it. So Mentor ALO didn't invest any time into my DS. At one point, Mentor ALO said she had a family, was active duty herself, husband was deployed at the time and she had 2 little kids, she didn't have spare time to answer questions that could be found in the packet. At the beginning, she did look at his resume and removed my son's photo and put a picture of an AF plane in its place. At the end of the day, after the amazing encouragement from the interview ALO (who really praised my DS and his overall package) and an interview panel at a Senators interview (who also praised my son) my DS changed courses and applied to USMMA. we never even heard of USMMA before this, so it was very last minute. He was accepted to USMMA early. USAFA waited until the very last minute to say he wasn't selected. By then it wasn't a disappointment at all. The process with USAFA left a sour spot due to the Mentor ALO and the very long wait. Just for reference, my son had the President and Congresswoman's nomination to USAFA. He had both the Senators and Congresswoman nomination to USMMA (presidential is not allowed at USMMA). For his mentor ALO to discourage my son was maddening after he got all those nomination...he must have had a good package to others. Looking back, he's so happy at USMMA and thankful he applied at USAFA because otherwise he would never of known about USMMA. My advice, you really don't need the Mentor ALO to get through the process. Keep that head high and keep trucking forward and apply to more than one SA.
 
It looks like the experiences are vastly different in many cases. My DS contacted his Mentor ALO and got an immediate response. They chatted once early on, and the ALO made sure he was on track. Later when my son contacted his Evaluator ALO, the evaluator suggested he talk again with the mentor before their formal interview. He contacted his mentor again and they had a call to discuss what the interview would look like. He then had his interview with no issues. Last year he even got a business card from an academy representative while at an air show and he contacted her at a later date. They had a call, and she answered a bunch of general questions he had about the academy even talking about the different clubs available. I think the different experiences highlight that there should be formal guidelines on the process. (if there isn't already) For my DS he couldn't have been more pleased with his contacts. I don't know if he will get a nomination or an offer of appointment but besides the long waits for everything the process has been pretty smooth.
 
Mentor ALOs are volunteers. Like any other team of volunteers, some are more involved than others. They are volunteers who can answer your questions. Probably many have busy lives of their own but are doing their best to provide this service. Contact your Silver Team if you really have an issue and need questions answered.
 
mijohnst said:
We've been wondering about the mentor's purpose when applying for the USAFA. My DS has sent several lengthy emails about his application completions and status improvements but his mentor has never responded. We know we have the correct contact information because we know someone else that he seems to be corresponding with. I thought the mentor keeps up with whoever is assigned and reports to USAFA about them. Is that not true? If this is true, he hasn't done a thing to help him. Should we request that he get transferred to someone else? We're just not sure what to do.

I've said in another thread, but recruiting at USAFA doesn't seem to do anything compared to the other academies.
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In my days (application in 1969), I had neither a mentor nor an interview. My local ALO didn't know that I was applying until he was notified of my appointment. I won't share information with either the ALO organization or the admissions office, but I will answer any questions you might have. If I don't know the answer, I will tell you that. I graduated in 1974, taught at USAFA in 1982-86, observed my son's USAFA application in 2010, and served in the USAF between 1974-2002.
 
Falcon74 said:
In my days (application in 1969), I had neither a mentor nor an interview. My local ALO didn't know that I was applying until he was notified of my appointment. I won't share information with either the ALO organization or the admissions office, but I will answer any questions you might have. If I don't know the answer, I will tell you that. I graduated in 1974, taught at USAFA in 1982-86, observed my son's USAFA application in 2010, and served in the USAF between 1974-2002.
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My ALO helped me a lot when applying in the 90s because 1. I went to the biggest high school in my rural area of the state, 2. my state with little military presence so SAs were virtually unknown, and 3. he really wanted me to get in (I guess because he thought I was a strong candidate). Even so, his "help" was really more in the form of encouragement. However, that was a different time when we didn't have online applications, books, forums to answer questions, and portals to check. My dc have not needed their mentor ALOs at all. Any questions they've had have been very specific to their situations (mostly homeschool related) that only admissions could answer.
 
The role of the ALO has changed dramatically since I first did it as an additional duty while on active duty. I've been an ALO for 28 1/2 years now. I'm "old school" in that I get involved with my candidates if they wish. I get to know them, I coach them, I read their essays if they wish, you name it! If they don't want any of that, that's fine, it's their call. I'm here to serve them.

I'm still close to MANY of my former candidates. The great pride I have for them...well...in the coming months, early in 2024, I get to travel to an army base....and there I'll get to administer the oath of office to one of my first candidates who ended up at West Point. He'll be pinning on Colonel's eagles. I will give him my eagles; those that my grandfather wore, and then my father, and then me. I have no children to pass them on to. I think they'll have an amazing "next chapter" in their lives. He's a fine young man, with a family, and an amazing career!
(and for anyone wondering; I have two sets: regular and war eagles).

Some of us really do care.

Steve
USAFA ALO
 
flieger83 said:
The role of the ALO has changed dramatically since I first did it as an additional duty while on active duty. I've been an ALO for 28 1/2 years now. I'm "old school" in that I get involved with my candidates if they wish. I get to know them, I coach them, I read their essays if they wish, you name it! If they don't want any of that, that's fine, it's their call. I'm here to serve them.

I'm still close to MANY of my former candidates. The great pride I have for them...well...in the coming months, early in 2024, I get to travel to an army base....and there I'll get to administer the oath of office to one of my first candidates who ended up at West Point. He'll be pinning on Colonel's eagles. I will give him my eagles; those that my grandfather wore, and then my father, and then me. I have no children to pass them on to. I think they'll have an amazing "next chapter" in their lives. He's a fine young man, with a family, and an amazing career!
(and for anyone wondering; I have two sets: regular and war eagles).

Some of us really do care.

Steve
USAFA ALO
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🥹

How cool
 
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