Five for Five

rjb said:
https://www.wdsu.com/article/teen-gets-into-5-us-military-academies/39847503#
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Quite an accomplishment, and I hope his motivation to applying for all was because he was willing to serve in each’s field, not just hunting for the 5 of 5 score. I also hope he is a team player and will help classmates.

He will eventually realize saying things like “stuck in a boat” and “somewhere out in the Army” can be said more diplomatically. Or not said at all.

I wish him a successful USAFA and Air Force journey.
 
Not to diminish his accomplishment, but I believe that more would attain this “five”, if they actually applied to all 5. My opinion is that it’s a rarity also as a function of candidates being focused on where they want to serve, and not applying to all 5, VS attaining appointments to all 5.
 
Colorado2026 said:
Seems like an ego-thing to me.
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Okay, confession time...I went 0-5 my first time and then 4-5 my second (Them Puddle Pirates are TOUGH, I was an alternate).

However, in honesty, I had a career path planned for each service. I wanted to serve. I believed I needed the "rigor" of an SA over a college. I figured if I went to a "regular" university in Florida...the beach is there (eh), and then the cobia would be running, or the kings, or the bluefish, or dolphin...and I'd be on the water and not in class.

The ego came into it when I laid all the offers out (ROTC was in there too, from three services)...and I could say "West Point...MacArthur, Lee, Bradly, Patton...NAAAAH...." and move on.

I applaud the young man's accomplishment. Now someone needs to teach him what to say and NOT to say in an interview.
 
Capt MJ said:
He will eventually realize saying things like “stuck in a boat” and “somewhere out in the Army” can be said more diplomatically. Or not said at all.
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Yeah, or he'll be saying "stuck at an airfield somewhere out in North Dakota."

(Joking, kinda: there's a certain amount of stuck somewhere in all the services at one point or another.)
 
StPaulDad said:
Yeah, or he'll be saying "stuck at an airfield somewhere out in North Dakota."

(Joking, kinda: there's a certain amount of stuck somewhere in all the services at one point or another.)
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That would be a great thread. I vote Diego Garcia for the Navy. I hear Army folks love Ft. Huachuaca???
 
Colorado2026 said:
Seems like an ego-thing to me.
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Ya. I agree. It is an ego thing. Good thing that the link doesn’t work for me … probably click-bait anyway.

I’d be celebrating if the Kid had an arm and/or leg prosthesis, or didn’t feel the need to wear a prosthesis at all, was academically and physically badass, could kick anyones A$$ up and down to boot with his/her one good arm and one good leg … and All 5 academies finally offered Appointments because the Kid is being treated like any other “Able-bodied” kid.

Just my 2-cents
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I wish I would've skipped the video. Ultimately, wasn't a feel good for me and I leave it at that.
 
It’s all perspective.

An Air Force Officer acquaintance related to me that one never wanted to be stuck with the 3 Ns while overseas - The Navy, NATO and Naples. He told me that Naples was considered hardship duty. The 3 Ns worked for me though. If I were in the AF, I’d rather be stuck at Aviano AB in northern Italy.

Regarding the OP, even the media gets it wrong. The article stated he was accepted to five Military Academies. There is only one Military Academy and that’s West Point. I’m posting this to the SAF not the MAF, right? Imma 😁😁cut the young man a big piece of Navy slack because I’ve been to double land locked Nebraska and Offutt AFB. That would have meant being stuck for me. I wouldn’t have it any other way being “stuck on a boat” as a junior officer back when. The Nebraskan is young, obviously talented, and hopefully teachable. The public affairs and social awareness side should grow with more experience. I wish him well during BCT.
 
Capt MJ said:
That would be a great thread. I vote Diego Garcia for the Navy. I hear Army folks love Ft. Huachuaca???
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Oh, now, Diego's not THAT bad....the fishing is great...the coconut crabs are fascinating...and...and...

Okay, it's pretty much a dump.

Back in the day...in the USAF...we had several "less than desirable" locations. Of course, in North Dakota, you had two bases: Grand Forks and Minot. Grand Forks is actually pretty nice, whereas Minot...no. Wake Island was a favorite of mine, but I didn't have to do a 12-month hardship remote there. That would have been...challenging.

The USAF "you do NOT want to be assigned here" bases were, IMO:

Thule AB, Greenland
Shemya AB, Alaska
 
flieger83 said:
Oh, now, Diego's not THAT bad....the fishing is great...the coconut crabs are fascinating...and...and...

Okay, it's pretty much a dump.

Back in the day...in the USAF...we had several "less than desirable" locations. Of course, in North Dakota, you had two bases: Grand Forks and Minot. Grand Forks is actually pretty nice, whereas Minot...no. Wake Island was a favorite of mine, but I didn't have to do a 12-month hardship remote there. That would have been...challenging.

The USAF "you do NOT want to be assigned here" bases were, IMO:

Thule AB, Greenland
Shemya AB, Alaska
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Agreed, there are places you didn’t mind passing through, but a year in a no-dependents tour? 😱
 
I want to give the young man a little break. Our own DS applied to 4. He thought he had a good idea of his first choice but knew competition was fierce and he could see himself serving in 4 branches.

When he received NROTC and then an appointment to USNA he withdrew his USAFA app. He had eliminated that from his choices at that point.

After his USNA appointment he still chose to attend a luncheon 180 miles away (one way) held by USMMA parent club to glean all the information and gouge he could. He wanted to make an informed decision. We supported that.

He engaged his FFR and alumnus contacts prior to making his decision to turn down West Point.

At the end of the day he slept on his options and chose the best for what he thought suited him and his goals.
It wasn’t an ego thing. Not at all. It was humbling for him.

Newspapers from small towns and large towns are right to celebrate the successes of young men and women in their midst.

You all know the application process is no joke. I cannot imagine going through that hell five times to assuage an ego.

Just my two cents.
 
DD1 applied to 4 SAs and 4 "regular" universities, all of which met her requirements for academic majors and sports competition. She was always going to choose USNA, but at the outset there was no guarantee that it was going to choose her.

She received offers of appointment from all 4 SAs and ride offers from all 4 regular universities.

It had nothing to do with ego; it had everything to do with not being cocky and keeping her options open.

However, I will say that she declined to do any interviews when the local media caught wind and we didn't press her to do so. Her aunt and a teacher on the other hand...

Before you judge the kid, consider that he may have simply acquiesced to external pressures from parents, faculty, etc.

Sometimes there is a lot mote-shaming here from people with pretty large beams of their own.
 
And to be fair, a local paper did do an article about our son and his options. In our neck of the woods we hoped it would open some other young eyes to the opportunities that ROTC scholarships and service academies offer. As well as alternate paths to commissioning.

Media can help! It can when used correctly inform the public. And that may spark some interest in a young man or woman with a heart of service.

Appointees can be little sparks of light in their own communities. Many who are considered underrepresented and the outreach is valuable.
 
For my USAF parents, it was a tie between Mountain Home, ID and 11 straight years at Offutt in Omaha -- in the 1950s and 1960s. As someone above said, every service has its share of less-desirable locations. Some of it is in the eyes of the beholder. My least favorite duty station was beloved by most stationed there.
 
Whenever I see a news story like this, I wonder if it was the media that contacted the family, or the family that contacted the media.

I think it is fairly safe to say that a majority (not all) of candidates who earn an appointment to one SA have what it takes to earn an appoinment at any of the SAs. While we jokingly say one SA is better than the others, of course that is not the case.

My son applied to USMA, USNA, and USAFA. After learning more about USMA and USAFA, he realized those branches were not a good fit for him, so he withdrew his applications. He did not apply to the other two academies.

Do I think he was a shoo-in to get an appointment to all of them? Not at all. Do I think he had a good shot? Absolutely! And that applies to thousands of other applicants as well.

Why would anyone not wanting to be 'stuck in a boat' even apply to USNA, USCGA, or USMMA?
 
The young man has achieved so many things and will serve the country very well.

The really interesting thing is that some SA forum users have an extremely weird mindset. How can this young man's passion to serve the country be regarded as somewhat negative because he applied to all 5 SAs???

I can see some biased tones in some writeups. When I attended two different SA local meetings hosted by two different Representatives, both staff "strongly" recommended applying to several SAs (as many as possible) to show the candidate's willingness to serve the county. Were they misleading hundreds of candidates and parents officially?

I know a kid who received an admission to Stanford was also admitted to Harvard and most IVY league colleges. Is this kid selfish because he received many admissions?

I don't know the young man in the article but I do see some people who don't understand what it means "serving the country." Maybe they think that SA is just a good route for free education???

I don't think that each academy's admission board members and staff as well as local admission liaison officers did make some terrible mistakes during a lengthy screening process.
 
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