Benefits of knowing a Colonel/General

BaseballGuy

BaseballGuy

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I had a friend tell me that he knew a colonel who could just "snap his fingers" and get somebody into usafa. Is there any truth in this?
 
BaseballGuy said:
I had a friend tell me that he knew a colonel who could just "snap his fingers" and get somebody into usafa. Is there any truth in this?
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No. But to address your title there's a big difference between a Colonel and a General. For reference there are over 3,700 active duty Air Force Colonels and only ~300 Generals, with only 14 one of those being four stars.

As @raimius pointed out, a letter of rec from a Colonel can be a positive (assuming they actually know you), whereas a letter of rec from a four star would most likely mean that your application is heavily considered (won't save you if you're a POS though, and in that case I doubt a four star would write you a letter of rec).

Another thing to remember is that if you're impressive enough to have flag officers writing you letters of rec, you could probably get in off of your own merit.
 
Our BGO advised against letter of reference from flag officer who is a family friend or family member. That confirmed what my brother in the Pentagon told us--that even a peep out of him or my Godfather, retired sub admiral, could have actually detracted from my son's candidacy in the eyes of some of the board members.
 
ThereseInDenver said:
Our BGO advised against letter of reference from flag officer who is a family friend or family member. That confirmed what my brother in the Pentagon told us--that even a peep out of him or my Godfather, retired sub admiral, could have actually detracted from my son's candidacy in the eyes of some of the board members.
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This past year when I was part of a Congressional Interview panel, in going through one of our candidate's paperwork, we noted that he had applied for noms from the MOC, Senators, VP AND PRESIDENT (!). During the interview he did fine, one of our best and near the end, we asked for info about the Presidential and he was a little evasive but eventually told us that his father was a retired Rear Admiral from a certain community. Two of us knew that the two star is actually the senior member of that community. He is also a USNA grad but the son was actively trying to keep it quiet as he wanted to get in on his own merit.
 
Had a WP applicant come through our MOC interview panel this year with a letter of recommendation from the two star commander of an infantry division. That was a first.
 
If you know the "right" people, you can join the Military at the ripe old age of 42. So I'm sure you can get into the USAFA.
 
I love questions like this.

In my LONG tenure as an ALO for USAFA...and as a 10-year member of my MOC (House and Senate) USAFA nomination teams, I've seen a LOT of very impressive-looking letters of recommendation. Two stand out immediately: both were from four-star generals (one army, one air force).

Letter #1: "I highly recommend...outstanding young man...father was a junior aide of mine, then later one of my regimental commanders...fine officer, fine family...son will do well..." It was on very fancy US Army 4-Star Letterhead, perfectly typed, etc. It read like an award citation.

Letter #2: "It is my personal honor and pleasure to recommend to you Miss XXXX for your consideration for nomination to the USAFA. I have known XXX since her birth; I am her Godfather. Her father flew with me on his initial tour of AF duty...our careers have crossed many times and I've been able to follow my Goddaughter's growth closely. If you haven't figured it out, our families are close..." and it went on. It was on very fancy USAF 4-star stationary, written in a blue sharpie, and at the end said something like this: "If you have any questions, please call me directly; here is my personal cell phone number."

Guess which had more "impact?" Mind you, the letter did NOT get her a nomination; her own interview with the panel, her complete package of academics, test scores, extracurriculars, and all got her the nomination. However...that letter didn't hurt her case. In the first case, the letter really didn't help much as it was clear the general really didn't know the candidate.

The process is geared to not enable favoritism. Letters CAN and DO tell a lot about a person if they're from someone with true and intimate knowledge of the candidate. And those are typically great to read and I won't say they don't have a positive impact because I know they do. The others...are usually nice but sterile.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
raimius said:
That's not how it works.

They might be able to help navigate the process and write an informative letter of recommendation, but acceptance into a Service Academy takes much more than favoritism (by design).
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Concur. If you want a specific assignment and inquire from a Colonel within the organization will usually refer to an officer who can help you.
 
I sat on a TX MOC board this year and an applicant had a LOR from the Governor of Oklahoma. It was not very personal and it was obvious he knew the parents, but no real interaction with the candidate. "He comes from good stock." For me, he lost points with the letter.
 
To paraphrase an old adage. "If you need to ask if a letter from a VIP will help, it won't." It would be naïve to think that influence is not exerted behind the scenes on behalf of certain candidates, but "behind the scenes" is the key point. MOC interview committees and other people involved in the formal channels would probably not even be aware of it.

An LOR from a VIP you don't know well can be a disaster. An example I've posted before is from an interview I read about a woman who was on Harvard's Board of Overseers. Her instruction to admissions: "If I use the applicants first name in the recommendation, this is someone whose application I genuinely support. If I do not use the first name, I am simply submitting a letter at the request of someone I do not want to say no to, but I don't care one way or the other whether the applicant is admitted."
 
BaseballGuy said:
I had a friend tell me that he knew a colonel who could just "snap his fingers" and get somebody into usafa. Is there any truth in this?
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Maybe they were confused about 100 slots for "Military Brats" USAF Nominations Webpage

Presidential​

There are unlimited nominations, but only up to 100 appointments available annually in this category. Vacancies allocated to the president of the United States have been reserved for children of career military personnel. This includes enlisted, warrant and commissioned members of regular and reserve components who are on active duty (other than for training) and who have served continuously on active duty for at least eight years; and military retirees either living or deceased who have received retired or retainer pay. Reservists must be serving as members of reserve components and be credited with at least eight years of service computed under section 12733 of Title 10 (at least 2,880 points); or who died while they would have been entitled to retired pay under chapter 1223 of Title 10, except for not having attained 60 years of age. For adopted children, the adoption proceedings must have begun before their 15th birthday.
 
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