I am a Cadre this summer AMA

Pwease don’t ywell at mwee (joke)

Do cadre practice their drill skills with a senior instructor before actually teaching/performing during Basic? I saw a bunch of cadets practicing their drill with an instructor when I went to USAFA summer seminar last year.
 
UnderAlps said:
Pwease don’t ywell at mwee (joke)

Do cadre practice their drill skills with a senior instructor before actually teaching/performing during Basic? I saw a bunch of cadets practicing their drill with an instructor when I went to USAFA summer seminar last year.
Click to expand...
Towards the end of this semester (we have like 10 lessons left, so soon), we have a flight hiring where every flight commander will hire their 5 other staff members. When we get everyone hired in past years, we start practicing after school with our staff, with MTIs watching and teaching us. But after finals and before grad, we have "summer prep week" which every day, all basic cadre who are not doing the courses will be in briefs/trainings and doing stuff about 10 hours a day for 6 days, which will include us learning how to march a flight. Some cadre pick it up really fast, some never learn; it's a mixed bunch. But we get alot of training on drill and how to teach you guys the things we want you to know.
 
sharpmarz said:
When do you guys find out whose in your flight?
Click to expand...
To be honest with you, I am not too sure, probably like a few days before I day, which I assume you guys or the parents clubs will have it by then, and also to be honest we dont look at the list or care because we are cadre for our flight and we are gonna do our job no matter who is in our flight.
 
What happens if you nick yourself while shaving? I know you only have 1-2 minutes, but what if your face doesn't look outstanding after shaving quickly?
 
Future Falcon said:
What happens if you nick yourself while shaving? I know you only have 1-2 minutes, but what if your face doesn't look outstanding after shaving quickly?
Click to expand...
My advice (I'm a new cadre) is to shave the night before for real and then lightly run a razor over your face in the morning without shaving cream to satisfy your cadre and get any stray hairs that grew overnight.

I did this in both enlisted basic and in BCT, worked like a charm.
 
tall_man22 said:
My advice (I'm a new cadre) is to shave the night before for real and then lightly run a razor over your face in the morning without shaving cream to satisfy your cadre and get any stray hairs that grew overnight.

I did this in both enlisted basic and in BCT, worked like a charm.
Click to expand...
Good to know. Thank you!
 
Future Falcon said:
What happens if you nick yourself while shaving? I know you only have 1-2 minutes, but what if your face doesn't look outstanding after shaving quickly?
Click to expand...
Get a 5-blade Gillette or Harry's. I find you can shave alot faster with this certain type of razor. It's what I used in basic, and it worked perfectly. I always shaved in the morning when I got woken up because it's not that deep, the cadre will say an artificial time you have to be done to induce stress, you will never meet the impossible time limits.
 
What are the agreed upon hardest classes Doolie year? How is the boxing class and phy ed classes in general? What are your favorite classes or are there any you recommend in particular? And would you recommend the Soaring program or powered flight program to a cadet who has never flown before?

Thank you very much for doing this. I'll be there this summer, as a thirty-er (Class of 2030).
 
I will be a basic cadet in the class of 2030. I had a question about shaving. I have never grown any facial hair (not even peach fuzz) and never shaved in my life. I know from my brother (who was a basic in 2028) also never grew facial hair, but he often had problems during inspections because he would be asked "did you shave?" and he would always say no. He would always get in trouble for it just because he didn't want to lie. Should I bring a razor and just rub it over my face even though I will never need to use it?
 
Listerine said:
I will be a basic cadet in the class of 2030. I had a question about shaving. I have never grown any facial hair (not even peach fuzz) and never shaved in my life. I know from my brother (who was a basic in 2028) also never grew facial hair, but he often had problems during inspections because he would be asked "did you shave?" and he would always say no. He would always get in trouble for it just because he didn't want to lie. Should I bring a razor and just rub it over my face even though I will never need to use it?
Click to expand...
Basic! Did you shave this morning?
No Sir!
Why not?
No excuse Sir! Sir, may I make a statement?
What?
Sir, I am unable to grow facial hair. My face is as smooth as a baby's behind.

You will probably not be trained anymore on this topic. You will however, be assigned a nickname.
 
Blueapple said:
Feel free to ask me anything about USAFA or basic. I am a 2027 Cadet who will be a Basic Cadre this summer.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for putting yourself out there for us and I hope you don't regret it when you see how many questions we have :) here are a some of mine I've been wondering...

- I have the chance to place out of a few classes (Beh Sci, Econ 201, Chem 1, and Calc 1) and I'm an intended physics major with no intent to minor or double major if that matters, should I place out or just take the classes because I'll have to take the same amount of credit hours anyway and tuition is free?

-I know we take pt tests during basic, do they all factor into our physical gpa or just one of them? If so, which is the first one that will matter long-term?

-I've been looking into buying an ipad and macbook, should I get both or just the ipad since we're issued laptops even if they're restricted, also how does the wifi/cellular data situation work...? I've been confused about that.

-Do males and females get the same amount of time to shower? Since there are less girls overall and we have to wash our hair I could see it but I just haven't heard anything about it...

-How much free time do you really have at the academy? I get such mixed answers depending on who's being asked which is probably actually reflective now that I'm thinking about it but what's your take?

-What is the cadet wing morale looking like? I know there's been a lot of changes recently and I just don't know what's true vs rumours...

-What are the differences in our freshman year vs class of 2026?

Thank you so much :)
 
LiabilityLar said:
- I have the chance to place out of a few classes (Beh Sci
Click to expand...
FYI: There is no placement exam for core Beh Sci. To validate a core course requirement, you have to meet the requirements of the academic department that owns the core course. For Beh Sci, you can (1) submit an undergraduate transcript showing you earned an A in an undergraduate level Intro Psych course and you may be asked to provide a syllabus that shows the course is substantially similar to USAFA's Beh Sci core course, or (2) you can provide a high school transcript showing you earned an A in an AP Psych course AND provide an AP Psych exam score report showing you scored a 5 on the exam. It is possible the requirements have changed in the last few years, but this was the standard for well over a decade. If you provide these items to the Registrar when you arrive, they will see what you have and get the ball rolling on validating core Beh Sci.

In general, you should try to legitimately place as high as you can and you should validate as many courses as you can. (By legitimately, I mean, you do not want to place into Calc 2 or 3 if deep down you know your don't have a solid grasp of Calc 1). In most cases, placing into more advanced course or validating (skipping) a course requirement means you will have more control (more options) regarding what you take in future semesters. You will still have to meet the minimum credit hours to graduate with your major, but now you have the freedom to spend those credit hours in electives (or a minor, or double major, or SA or international exchange semester) since they are not assigned to a particular subject.
 
Listerine said:
I will be a basic cadet in the class of 2030. I had a question about shaving. I have never grown any facial hair (not even peach fuzz) and never shaved in my life. I know from my brother (who was a basic in 2028) also never grew facial hair, but he often had problems during inspections because he would be asked "did you shave?" and he would always say no. He would always get in trouble for it just because he didn't want to lie. Should I bring a razor and just rub it over my face even though I will never need to use it?
Click to expand...
Yeah that's what I would do,
 
LiabilityLar said:
Thank you so much for putting yourself out there for us and I hope you don't regret it when you see how many questions we have :) here are a some of mine I've been wondering...

- I have the chance to place out of a few classes (Beh Sci, Econ 201, Chem 1, and Calc 1) and I'm an intended physics major with no intent to minor or double major if that matters, should I place out or just take the classes because I'll have to take the same amount of credit hours anyway and tuition is free?

-I know we take pt tests during basic, do they all factor into our physical gpa or just one of them? If so, which is the first one that will matter long-term?

-I've been looking into buying an ipad and macbook, should I get both or just the ipad since we're issued laptops even if they're restricted, also how does the wifi/cellular data situation work...? I've been confused about that.

-Do males and females get the same amount of time to shower? Since there are less girls overall and we have to wash our hair I could see it but I just haven't heard anything about it...

-How much free time do you really have at the academy? I get such mixed answers depending on who's being asked which is probably actually reflective now that I'm thinking about it but what's your take?

-What is the cadet wing morale looking like? I know there's been a lot of changes recently and I just don't know what's true vs rumours...

-What are the differences in our freshman year vs class of 2026?

Thank you so much :)
Click to expand...
1. Yes you will be taking 18-21 credit hours every semester no matter what, they will make you take more minors or something because they want you to stay busy. If you can validate all the core classes, you can. I was a physics major before it didn't align with my life, but that is a very hard major, and if you can get into those major's classes early, it will help you out tremendously.

-You take the PFT and AFT twice over basic; the second one can determine if you are on athletic probation at the start of the semester, but the first PFT that goes into your PEA is in September.

-Wifi is fine, some cadets have a second laptop, but almost all have an iPad. I use my government-issued computer for everything and take notes on my iPad; I don't see a need to buy a second computer.

-Unfortunately, you get about the same amount of time to shower, yeah, it sucks, and I am sorry.

-As an upperclassman in my majors classes, I have a lot more time now than I did. You also learn how to time manage better later in your cadet life so you get more time to go off base as you get older. But as a frosh you just need to spend time with the kids in your squad and have fun.

-We had a new commandant announced today! And we love our new dean, and hopefully the new supt is cool. Things are looking up and we are all getting happier.

-There are a lot of differences, and you will always be told your freshman year is easy; arguably, it is, but it will still be hard for you. The way Usafa used to be, with all training focused solely on freshmen, ended after the 27er freshman year. We might go back to it with new leadership. But now there is a lot less focus on training only freshmen and making y'all do stuff like run the strips; we're focusing on training everybody.
 
What is it that makes academics/time management hard at USAFA? Obviously the amount of classes you're taking as well as the other military/physical training. Is the homework significantly harder/more of it/more time consuming or is it just task overload? Is there anything I can be doing now to prepare myself mentally?

Also, as a leftie should I plan on eating or doing anything else right-handed?
 
Last edited:
Aardvaark111 said:
What is it that makes academics/time management hard at USAFA? Obviously the amount of classes you're taking as well as the other military/physical training. Is the homework significantly harder/more of it/more time consuming or is it just task overload? Is there anything I can be doing now to prepare myself mentally?

Also, as a leftie should I plan on eating or doing anything else right-handed?
Click to expand...
It's not about time management, its about excellence, as in Excellence in All You Do. At USAFA, you will be thrown three domains of officer development that not everyone is good at: academics, military training, and athletics/fitness. If you cannot do all three exceptionally well, then time management is how you deal with it. If you are truly gifted academically, militarily, and athletically, then you will not have any time management problems, because you won't have to study as much, military training will come naturally, and athletics and fitness will only require basic upkeep since it's all second nature and good genetics to you.

But if you are like most people, you a will not be gifted in all those areas. Those who struggle academically must find time to study more. If that doesn't work then get help from professors. If that doesn't work then change to a major that you can handle. Some people quit playing Div 1 sports and pay club or intramural sports instead--trading practice time for study time. There are people who struggle with fitness. There are people who fail to meet military training standards. Generally, these are easier problems to recover from--just put in the time and effort and the results will follow. Academics is the one to watch for. More cadets are disenrolled for academics--sometimes quickly--than military conduct/aptitude or fitness.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top