Appointee Kit Q&A

VA-Mom said:
As for clothing to bring, I just see t-shirts and underwear for my DS. How about socks? I'm going to substitute compression shorts for some of the underwear, which seems to be what some people are bringing.
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They will issue socks. No socks are needed.
 
DDHH2026 said:
Hi everyone:
Is the only bank on the Academy base Arm Force Bank?
However, there is no branch around my area to open an account.
How do you handle this? Need to fill out the direct deposit in Kit.
Also concern no access to bank (no car in first year).
Thanks!
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My DD kept her local bank account and has not had any issues.
 
Air academy credit union is on base and we were able to apply online. Very easy .
DS just received his debi5 card in the mail at our home address.
 
somuchbetterthanme said:
Can you please elaborate on the starter loan ?
I don’t know what this is .
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During their third year (after signing their commitment) cadets are offered a Career Starter Loan. The loan is designed to provide funding for setting up a new household after graduation. The loan terms are different each year, but are usually very generous. As an example, our oldest son’s was up to $35,000 at 1/2% interest. The loan is paid back over a term of 5 years after commissioning, with the first payment due 6 months after graduation. It requires direct deposit of your pay to the bank that issues the loan, and the payment is taken directly from your pay. Cadets can use the funds for anything they wish.

There are a lot of opinions on the usefulness of the Career Starter Loan, and you will hear many of them I am sure. It can be very good, or it can be wasteful. It is up to the cadet and their decisions.

Stealth_81
 
somuchbetterthanme said:
Thank you so much for the information. We are new to all of this and learning so much !
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It is not a govt loan or “official” loan in any way, it’s a signature loan offered by the leading military-serving Bank and CU.

You can research multiple past threads on this. Nothing to think about until junior year. @Stealth_81 is absolutely correct, used wisely, at that low rate of interest and manageable payback via automatic payment after graduation over 5 years, it can be put to work paying off higher-cost debt, support annual IRA, launch longer-term investments, build a healthy emergency fund, fund career start-up costs such as new uniform buys, first apartment furniture, etc. Or it can be stupidly frittered away. Direct Deposit at the loaning financial institution and auto-pay is required. There is some risk if the midshipman or cadet takes the loan and then leaves the SA voluntarily or involuntarily; they still owe the loan payback, and the penalty rate in the contract could be imposed.

There is a similar loan for ROTC contracted cadets and midshipman.
 
Is there a firm deadline when the appointee kit is due? DS received an email that the assignment (dignity/respect courses) on EVERFI is due June 10, but what about the rest of the kit?
 
I've heard June 1, but not sure that's official. We have final immunization scheduled for May 6, and then he has to take math placement once AP exams are over. Hoping to have it complete by May 13.
 
Momto5 said:
I've heard June 1, but not sure that's official. We have final immunization scheduled for May 6, and then he has to take math placement once AP exams are over. Hoping to have it complete by May 13.
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That's close to when my ds will finish. It's best for him to do the math placement exams after he's done with school which closes out on May 12. We leave for vacation on May 22 so he'll do the exams sometime in between. He's working his way through the other training now since it doesn't require as much focus as the placement exams.
 
Momto5 said:
I've heard June 1, but not sure that's official. We have final immunization scheduled for May 6, and then he has to take math placement once AP exams are over. Hoping to have it complete by May 13.
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I emailed admissions and they said June 1st. The website for the math placement tests say they are due the day after I-day (not that you should wait that long) and the inclusivity training is due June 10th according to the fifty reminder emails they send me a week
 
Another question about clothing - my DS will be bringing a few pairs of compression shorts and underwear that might be black or dark gray. I've been trying to figure out how to put the 9-digit code on these. Should I get somebody to embroider it or make a tag and sew it on? The waistbands are black.
 
On the appointee kit there is no place for uniform measurements, even though the handbook mentions them. I only see the shirt size for the PT shirt. Is that all we have to fill out?
 
VA-Mom said:
Another question about clothing - my DS will be bringing a few pairs of compression shorts and underwear that might be black or dark gray. I've been trying to figure out how to put the 9-digit code on these. Should I get somebody to embroider it or make a tag and sew it on? The waistbands are black.
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hopefulmom182 said:
A silver sharpie???
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mommahedg said:
That's what we used. Worked great!
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On the packing list of the Appointee handbook, it states that you need to bring 12 pairs of white underwear. In the what to bring section of the Appointee handbook, it then states that you must bring at least 12 plain color underwear. Is it required to pack white underwear or can you bring grey/black underwear? Also, will your underwear be checked during I-day?
 
long_runner said:
On the packing list of the Appointee handbook, it states that you need to bring 12 pairs of white underwear. In the what to bring section of the Appointee handbook, it then states that you must bring at least 12 plain color underwear. Is it required to pack white underwear or can you bring grey/black underwear? Also, will your underwear be checked during I-day?
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As long as it is neutral colors it is fine. They only say white because when they are doing laundry they do not have to worry about other colors bleeding.
 
They will not check your underwear. DS took 6 black and 6 grey of the compression short style (he ran cross county in high school so knew which ones would help prevent chaffing). The OCPs can really be tough on the skin, especially when they get wet.
 
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