Airborne School

2012Cadet

2012Cadet

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i've heard you can take airborne school as a cadet. how and when could this be done?:confused:
 
It is true, my son did airborne school in June. Now he is back at West Point for Cadet Field Training (aka Buckner) for four weeks. After that he has three weeks of leave.

You can do airborne during one of the summers after you finish your plebe year. Cadets request the training or other options sometime during spring semester. Later they are told which assignments they have for the summer. You don't always get your first choice.

USMA is changing the way they have summer training set up. They are going toward a 12 week summer so there can be three four week blocks of time. This way cadets will have more training opportunities.
 
A word of warning on going to Airborne School as a cadet: If you're going to be a branch that will send you anyways as an Officer, ie Infantry, do not go as a cadet. Airborne school is not that difficult to get slots for as an officer, and there are so many other schools that you will get the opportunity to attend as a cadet that you simply wont get the chance to go to once you get in the Army. Additionally, you will get treated like absolute dirt at Airborne school as a cadet, SGT Airborne will tell the Privates that they rank higher than you do, and it will be a pretty big waste of time. It's not high speed at all, and generally, it sucks. Waiting until you are an Officer ensures that you get the same training without most of the BS. If you're determined to go to Airborne school, I highly suggest you put it off until you're an Officer unless you're pretty sure the branch you want wont send you.
 
Thanks for coming back, ScreamingEagle. :thumb:

My son listens to the advice you give....

You are the best! :cool:

Ant
 
ScreamingEagle said:
Additionally, you will get treated like absolute dirt at Airborne school as a cadet, SGT Airborne will tell the Privates that they rank higher than you do, and it will be a pretty big waste of time.
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I'm sorry to hear some cadets are treated "like absolute dirt", but that was not my son's experience at airborne.
 
thank you for the info, ScreamingEagle. i hope to be an infantry officer, so yeah...ill be able to take airborne school. i just thought i could take it and be able to do another school when i was an officer but i guess i should do it the other way around. do you know what are some of the schools a cadet can attend besides airborne?
 
2012Cadet,
If you don't get an answer by Sunday I will ask my son about the other schools offered to cadets. He won't be available to ask until he gets home on Sat. night.
 
There are lots of schools -- Air Assault, Mech Leader, Stryker Leader, Sniper Leader, Sapper, Combat Diver, Mountain Warfare, Close Quarters Combat, and others. Some are much harder to get, and may have differing requirements.
 
questions:
what do you learn at the sniper leader school? i know officers can't be snipers, but is it like sniper school or more like SELC?what are the requirements for it?what are the requirements for CQC school? same for air assault school?
 
The best way to learn about these things is to google them and find the appropriate website. The Sinper Leader Employment Course info can be found at:

https://www.infantry.army.mil/197th/courses/sniper/index.htm

Also keep in mind that in the military things change, and you are looking pretty far out . If you begin USMA in summer 2012 it would be at least summer 2013 before you would be eligible for any MDS by the current rules.
That said, it makes for interesting reading.
 
so the sniper leader course you were talking about was SELC? that explains alot. thanks
 
honestly, try to go for something like moutain warfare or northern warfare or Sandhurst that you will not be likely to get in the Army. I dogged on Air Assault a lot as a cadet, but unless you're in the 101st you stand a hard chance of getting it. There are many options, find whats best for you, but if you want to go infantry, i would not go to Airborne because you'll have to go as an LT anyways. Dont buy the BS that being Airborne in Ranger School makes it better; it doesnt and its just another way to get hurt.
 
more questions???

yeah...im very interested in sandhurst after i read about it in "absolutely american" and want to do it if i can. also, what are some of the "options" you can't get in the army and the "many options available". for some reason i can't find these.

T.I.A.
 
In the Army, a lot of it depends on what type of unit you are in; for the most part, I can only speak from my experience as an Infantry Officer (and as an 06 grad and I know things have changed so I might be a bit dated). I will limit the discussion to schools that were open to cadets when I was there (hence, no Ranger School, Pathfinder, etc). Getting Airborne, regardless of branch, is not that difficult (and is mandatory for Infantry Officers). Air Assault is more difficult to get unless you're with the 25th ID, 101st, or 10th Mountain (and I think there might be one more Air Assault school out there, plus there is an Air Assault Battalion in Korea). Schools like Mountain Warfare and Northern Warfare are very difficult to get in the Army unless you have a reason to go, ie you're in the 10th Moutain. You will not get a chance to go to Special Operations Diver unless you are Special Forces or in Ranger Regiment. You will not go to Sapper School unless you are an Engineer or you have some outstanding unit that will allow you to go. The Sandhurst I spoke of was not the competition, rather it was the MIAD where USMA cadets travel to Sandhurts and take part in their culminating military excercise (everyone I know who did this said it was the best thing they did at USMA). Basically, USMA offers a lot of schools you wont be able to get in the Army, so unless you're deadset on Airborne (I was, unfourtunately), I would try to go to something that is unique and you wouldnt get the chance to otherwise. Too many cadets get caught up in the "flair" aspect of schools; wings, tabs, etc. What's on your uniform doesnt matter so much as what you know, so take advantage of the rare opportunities you can get there.
 
ScreamingEagle said:
Basically, USMA offers a lot of schools you wont be able to get in the Army, so unless you're deadset on Airborne (I was, unfourtunately), I would try to go to something that is unique and you wouldnt get the chance to otherwise. Too many cadets get caught up in the "flair" aspect of schools; wings, tabs, etc. What's on your uniform doesnt matter so much as what you know, so take advantage of the rare opportunities you can get there.
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Excellent advice-SE! You captured this one exactly. Your cadet years are the best chance you will have to do stuff because it captures your fancy and will help you grow. Once you are in - your unit and branch are going to dictate where you go.
 
thank you for clarifying the sandhurst thing. i think i would want to do both of those. like bruno said, you always offer "excellent advice" that's right on the money for what i try to find out. thanks again:thumb:
 
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