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SDMom2019

5-Year Member
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Feb 17, 2015
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I have been lurking on the forum for a while now and have learned so much by reading recent threads and threads from this time of year in the past. Thank you for providing a forum for parents and candidates to increase their knowledge of the Service Academies, ROTC programs, and other commissioning routes. I had no idea at this time last year that my son would be applying to a couple of SAs and ROTC programs. I've had quite a learning curve. I take comfort in reading questions and comments by others who are in the same boat.

My son has started teasing me about lurking on the Service Academy Forums so much. Maybe I'll soon be able to become comfortable throwing around the acronyms. :)
 
Welcome! :D I joined the forum about a month ago for a similar reason, and have found it to be very addictive. Your acronyms don't seem too bad, to be honest. ;)

Which SA's is your son applying to? Has he heard from any yet? You can feel free to PM me if you would like to talk more about it.

Best of luck to both of you! :thumb:
 
I tried to PM you, but kept getting error messages, so here goes.

He applied to USNA, USAFA, NROTC, and AFROTC. He has not heard back from USAFA yet. USNA has sent a letter saying he is guaranteed an offer of appointment if he meets the medical qualifications. He has been offered an NROTC scholarship at the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Type 7 AFROTC scholarship he could use at South Dakota State University. He is currently medically disqualified with USNA, USAFA, and NROTC. The DoDMERB site says his status is pending waiver review. He has been granted a waiver by AFROTC's waiver board without sending extra info. So, he has that option.

He had a contact dermatitis reaction to mango peel once in 2013. Sounds weird, huh? Unfortunately, the peel of the mango has the same poisonous oil as poison ivy (urishiol). It wasn't a scary reaction or anything. A couple of days after eating the mangoes (off the peel, instead of peeling it), his lips became swollen. A few days later, his lips were fine, but his eyes were swollen. After about a week, we took him to a clinic. He was prescribed some prednisone, then he was fine. We took him to an allergist last month and submitted the doctor's notes from that visit regarding his "diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis." The doc also tested to make sure he wasn't allergic to the flesh of the mango, and the test was negative. So, we are crossing our fingers that the waiver board thinks it's as little of a problem as the allergist thought it was. The doc tried to ease their minds that it was any type of anaphylactic reaction...simply contact dermatitis.

If my son had his choice of the four options, he would choose USNA. He wants to be a Naval Officer.....So, we'll see what happens.

The mom in me sometimes thinks about how Colorado Springs is so much closer to South Dakota than Annapolis. (Just like Colorado Springs would be farther from you than Annapolis, but it sounds like USAFA is your kid's dream scenario.)
 
It sounds like your son is doing a great job of getting plan B in place. :thumb:

If the allergy no longer exists, I would be shocked if he doesn't get the waiver. Even if it does, I'm guessing he still has a good chance. You should definitely make sure DoDMERB is updated on his current status, though, so they know how small the problem is.

Have you tried contacting Mr. Larry Mullen? He is the amazingly helpful DoDMERB Deputy Director, and his contact information is posted in the DoDMERB thread. He has helped dozens of candidates in similar situations to your son's. I would definitely consider sending him an email. :)

Regarding USAFA vs. USNA--For me, attending either one would be an extraordinary honor. Right now, I am waiting to hear from USAFA before I make my choice. The ideal situation would be getting appointments from both the USAFA and the USNA! :D
 
I apologize for assuming you were a parent instead of an aspiring midshipman or cadet. ;)

I figure Mr. Mullen has his hands full right now, so we're just letting the process run its course. It is nice to know he is there should we need some guidance. I have read some of his posts, and he seems like a very helpful person.

I hope you have your choice of the two academies. Either one would be an honor and a challenge. Congratulations on your appointment to USNA by the way.

We have never visited any of the academies, participated in summer sessions, etc... It seems like my son is one of the few who have not done that.
 
It's ok, haha. I guess you can't really tell from my profile picture. :D

If your son gets an appointment from the USNA (which I imagine he will, given his LOA), he could request a CVW (Candidate Visit Weekend). This is like a college visit and will give him a "close and personal" experience of USNA that he can draw upon when making his decision.

Once again, congratulations to your son (and you) on a great achievement! :)
 
Hi, it's nice to see that I'm not the only one in the same situation.

I really recommend the CVW (Candidate Visit Weekend) and also a visit to USAFA. My daughter was in the same situation as your son in terms of picking with USNA as her first choice and USAFA as her second. However, after visiting both schools, the choices were suddenly reversed. She found USAFA to be a much better fit for her Luckily she got a LOA to USAFAPS and accepted it immediately without even waiting for USNA.

Good luck to both you and your son.
 
Thank you, Annamaria. I'm glad your daughter figured out what she wanted and will have the opportunity to make it happen.

I have asked my son if he would like to visit the Air Force Academy. (I wouldn't mind taking a trip down to Colorado Springs :D.) But, he said he didn't need to visit. He said he wants to be a Naval Officer because he's excited about several careers available to him in the Navy. He can't do the types of jobs he's most excited about if he's in the Air Force.

He hasn't heard anything from USAFA anyway at this point. The only thing he knows about his status there is that the waiver board requested more information regarding his medical dq.

I hope God blesses all of these aspiring cadets/midshipmen, and they end up in positions that best fit their talents.
 
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