Items allowed to C4Cs after BCT?

J.NordicSkier7

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I know the belongings allowed to doolies are limited, so my parents were wondering if they would be able to get me anything for Christmas year that I would be able to take with me to the academy next year (fingers crossed!). Money is always good, but anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks.
 
While there definitely are some limitations for new cadets, it isn't so much a restriction by rules as it is a restriction of space. Remember, there are usually 2-3 of you sharing a room. With possible renovations, maybe a 4th. (Don't quote me on that). Yes, there are definitely some rules restrictions such as no MP3, IPOD, etc... However, there are a lot of things that cadets can have. As for the 1st year there and some gift ideas, here are a couple. They are small, yet very practical.

1. Nice Digital Camera. You will definitely have opportunities to use it.
2. Nice printer/scanner/copier combination. Much more convenient than going down the hall for a print out and hoping the printer isn't broken.
3. An external monitor to connect to the laptop/docking station. Makes for doing work much nicer. Plus the laptops have dual monitor support, so the laptop's screen and the external monitor can be extensions of each other. Makes for doing homework and research easier.
4. A nice mountain bike. That totally depends on the type of person you are. There are many of the athletes that have to go to the field house a lot, and the bus trip can be inconvenient. Plus, there are some that just want to ride on weekends out of the "COMPOUND" and feel like getting away.
5. A nice watch
6. A nice new cell phone

Pretty much all of these ideas; except the mountain bike; are small enough that they can all be sent in a nice small care package. Anyway, there's a lot of ideas. This is just a short list off the top of my head. later... mike....
 
1. Nice Digital Camera. You will definitely have opportunities to use it.
2. Nice printer/scanner/copier combination. Much more convenient than going down the hall for a print out and hoping the printer isn't broken.
3. An external monitor to connect to the laptop/docking station. Makes for doing work much nicer. Plus the laptops have dual monitor support, so the laptop's screen and the external monitor can be extensions of each other. Makes for doing homework and research easier.
4. A nice mountain bike. That totally depends on the type of person you are. There are many of the athletes that have to go to the field house a lot, and the bus trip can be inconvenient. Plus, there are some that just want to ride on weekends out of the "COMPOUND" and feel like getting away.
5. A nice watch
6. A nice new cell phone

These are all really legit suggestions. (Disclaimer: I'm at CGA but these aren't AFA specific) A good chunk of my classmates got a printer/scanner/copier and external monitor within a couple weeks of school starting. I'm not sure how things are situated at AFA, but the printer is especially nice because it eliminates the need for me to square/brace to the company printer while praying it's not broken or out of ink again. You will probably also find yourself doing some scanning. I've scanned/copied sources for my research paper and had to scan some medical forms today as a matter of fact. The use of the external is pretty obvious and has already been stated I think.
 
I just asked for a nice day in the city with my friends (from my parents). we went to an amusement park, dinner, a movie, and browsed the mall. it was a great day!
 
best cellphone type for a 4dig? I was thinking a blackberry.

Packer; Blackberry's are nice, but In My Opinion not really practical for the expense. My job is in telecommunications. My MONTHLY cell phone bill is about $57,000 . I have quite a few blackberrys. The problem at the academy is; even when you are allowed your cell phone; during duty hours (Class time, etc..) they are for emergency type use only. So, trying to use all the features of a blackberry like appointments, calendar, email, etc... is pretty useless. You aren't going to the office. Your whole life is scheduled. Trust me, you won't need a calendar. The school emails you everything. You have a nice computer/laptop they give you that you take to class. It has a writing tablet built in. The point is; why spend the money on a pda, then the additional $35-$50 a month for internet access and such, when you don't really need it. You'll have all the internet you want with the laptop. Including email, calendars, etc...

The type of phones I have seen that are very popular have been the 2 extremes. 1) Basic flip top type of phone with no frills or 2) Flip top type qwerty key board if you really are into texting. Something like the LG Envy. Verizon JUST put in a brand new TOWER near the cadet area. Now, Verizon coverage is all over. It use to be that most services were good and verizon was hit or miss. Now, all services are very good. I recommend the one that ALL your family and friends back home are on so you can do "In network" calling without using a lot of minutes. But personally, and it's just my opinion, I think you could find better uses for the extra $30-$50 a month than on a blackberry. Don't get me wrong; I love my blackberry. But most of what I use it for, I would never need at the academy. good luck. Mike....
 
I just asked for a nice day in the city with my friends (from my parents). we went to an amusement park, dinner, a movie, and browsed the mall. it was a great day!

Excellent idea. Also remember; while a 4th and 3rd degree aren't allowed to OWN A CAR on campus; you are most definitely allowed to rent a car. The average price is about $30 a day. Plus, another $20 a day for insurance. (Unless your parent's car insurance will cover it. Ours won't because my son isn't driving our car full time. He's away at school). Then there's gas. What I'm getting at is; you could ask your parents to pay for a nice getaway weekend by paying for a rental car for 2 days. It would cost them about $100, but it might be nice to get away.
 
Wow, that's great that Verizon just put that tower in. I hope that the Alltel/Verizon merger goes over OK, that way I could just stay in my family's plan.
 
Even without the merger, you should be OK. Verizon and Alltel have roaming agreements with each other. So you aren't really roaming. Of course, each area is different, but you should be OK. Verizon and Alltel use the CDMA network, so your phone will work. T-mobile and ATT use GSM. So that's why your phone wouldn't work even if you were 5 feet from their tower. But from what my account reps have told me, the merger is definitely a go. It's just a matter of some legal logistics such as releasing certain towers from alltel so as to provide competition from the other providers. Anyway, I think you'll be fine. later... mike....
 
Hooray for the Verizon Tower!!!! And that LG Envy phone you mentioned I was having our son look at for his birthday since last month he used 28 voice minutes but had 1000 text messages (good thing we have unlimited text messaging).

When he was at summer seminar this past summer, he could text inside and it would work but if he called us he would have to go outside.

I very well might survive his time at the Academy with this news!
 
Christcorp,

Don't you have to be over 21 to rent a car? That would rule out most cadets their first and second years.
 
for christmas, that is what i asked for last year when i was a senior in high school, but i'm probably getting something similar this year.
 
Christcorp, since you seem to be knowledgeable in the subject:

About when is the merger scheduled?
What will happen, will it just be Verizon, where Alltel customers are absorbed?
Should I wait and buy a Verizon phone later?
 
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