Blankets, Pillows, Mattress Pads

Barbie, I would still wait till PW, unless Junior is really uncomfortable. His squad mates are definitely going to take note that he is sleeping on a mat.

I know parents want to do their best for their kids but as ChristCorps will tell you: these young people are ADULTS now, in the US Military. You've not sent Johnny off to Flagship U where he'll complain because his frig is not making enough ice.

Let them do for themselves as much as possible. Send them homemade cookies, or get pizza, FOR THE WHOLE SQUAD (not just for him & his roommates). But please, a little suffering will make them stronger later.

This is honestly pretty dumb advice. Cadets don't care that other cadets don't sleep under the covers during 4* year. If he's asking for it, sounds like he has a pulse on what's acceptable in his own situation. He's almost out of basic, no need to make things more uncomfortable than they already are.
 
Barbie, I would still wait till PW, unless Junior is really uncomfortable. His squad mates are definitely going to take note that he is sleeping on a mat.

I know parents want to do their best for their kids but as ChristCorps will tell you: these young people are ADULTS now, in the US Military. You've not sent Johnny off to Flagship U where he'll complain because his frig is not making enough ice.

Let them do for themselves as much as possible. Send them homemade cookies, or get pizza, FOR THE WHOLE SQUAD (not just for him & his roommates). But please, a little suffering will make them stronger later.

This is honestly pretty dumb advice. Cadets don't care that other cadets don't sleep under the covers during 4* year. If he's asking for it, sounds like he has a pulse on what's acceptable in his own situation. He's almost out of basic, no need to make things more uncomfortable than they already are.
I have to agree. When it comes night no upperclass cadets are going to be snooping around judging what your cadet is sleeping on and if anything his fellow 4digs will be jealous that he's smarter than they are. Let them work smarter, not harder if they think they can get away with it. And if it turns out they can't, well, lesson learned.
 
The Basic Cadets have spent 6 weeks learning to fail, adapt and become a team. They work together and usually don't have time to care too much about any benefits someone else may have over them. In fact, if you are given a request from a Cadet then it likely came from something they saw or heard.

The reality is many Cadets sleep on the floor much of their first year at the Academy. Basics have to be dressed in the uniform of the day to go to the restroom so there are many stories of the sinks in the dorms doubling as a toilet. These young adults learn to adapt quickly to their circumstances. I wouldn't worry too much and just wait for your Cadet to ask for something. The one big lesson I learned in year one is to not jump at suggestions on the parent's boards. Most of the time when I reached out to my DS and asked if he needed this or that after reading it on the board, he just laughed and said "no".
 
Exactly what other people have said, nobody is going to care what your son/daughter is sleeping on or has in their room as long as they can hide it away during the day. 4-deg's doors close at 1950 (at the latest) and from that point on they could completely destroy their room if they wanted to, and nobody would care as long as it is back in SAMI order by 0700 the next morning. I personally had a mattress pad with my own sheets and pillow that I would place over my bed when I went to sleep, then just stuffed it in a drawer come morning time.

As a flight commander for this upcoming semester, I want my people to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually ready to accomplish whatever USAFA has to throw at us. If they're not getting enough quality sleep, then they can't do that. Therefore, on the extreme (0.00000001%) chance that somebody else has a problem with the fact that one of my 4-degs has a hammock, sleeping bag, mattress pad, sheets, etc, I would politely tell them to go spend their time elsewhere. On the off chance that another 4-deg has a problem with a 4-deg because that 4-deg has a "hammock, nicer sheets, mattress pad, etc" then that 4-deg needs to grow up and realize that there are more important things in life than worrying about things like that.

Bottom line, absolutely no one will care. But still wait until your 4-deg tells you what they want. Please don't listen to ANY advice regarding things like this unless it comes from a cadet that is currently at USAFA. Things change drastically from year to year, and even a cadet that just graduated this past year doesn't have the most up to date information. This goes double for parents who have never attended USAFA or who have had a cadet graduate more than 2 or 3 years ago.

Congrats on them making it through BCT, we're super proud to be accepting the Class of 2021 into the wing in just 5 days!!
 
I can't believe these kids sleep on the floor...you can easily shirt stay your rack and sleep on the made rack. If you don't move a ton your rack probably wont move so much that you cant fix it easily in the morning.
 
I can't believe these kids sleep on the floor...you can easily shirt stay your rack and sleep on the made rack. If you don't move a ton your rack probably wont move so much that you cant fix it easily in the morning.


I think I've maybe run into one or two cadets (over my four years) who have tried to sleep on the floor after the academic year started. As a firstie, I did bed checks for 4* a few times last year, and they were always sleeping on their beds, even if in a sleeping bag or under different blankets.

nolifepilot is absolutely right. Sleep is a precious commodity at USAFA, and there's no point in "suffering" for something like that. They're also right that current cadets have the best knowledge of CW regs, and even recent grads can't answer with the most current information.
 
They're also right that current cadets have the best knowledge of CW regs, and even recent grads can't answer with the most current information.

So true. It's amazing how fast things change in just a few years (this forum really makes me feel old and out of touch). And to any lurking hopefuls and 4 degrees seeking the secret to academic success at USAFA - SLEEP SLEEP and SLEEP. For some reason, the number of all nighters seems to be a badge of honor. My advice is 1. Find a comfortable way to sleep that also minimizes your morning bed fixing time and 2. ACTUALLY SLEEP

If your schedule is such that to get everything done you are sacrificing sleep (averaging less than 6 hours a night) you need to reevaluate your priorities and your schedule. Classes become significantly easier if you aren't half asleep every day. I know, slightly off topic, but I'll take any chance I can get to plug the importance of sleep when you are trying to learn.
 
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