Priors at USAFA?

I couldn't make an informed remark on the "prior culture" at the moment, but what I can say is that priors face their own unique, timeless challenges.

Priors have a significant break in academics and so must make that transition back to attending school full-time. This is where the P-school paid huge dividends for me. If you're prior and considering attending USAFA, I'd strongly recommend the prep-school first.

Most military aspects prove to be the easier part for the priors, but instructors and AOCs will lean on the priors to police their classmates' uniforms, rooms, and even their decorum through basic training and your freshmen year. This added responsibility can become a source of resentment if the faculty leans on them too much.

The age difference between the priors and other cadets may not appear to be significant at first (2 - 4 years), but a few years of real-world experience at that age constitutes a significant chasm that's difficult to bridge. My patience was tested! Not only with my classmates in learning to navigate their new military world, but with the upper-classmen who insisted on attitudes and approaches inconsistent with effective officership beyond the institution senseless traditions. Some of your classmates and upperclassmen will defer to your age and experience, but others will hold you in contempt for it.

After the first week of my freshman year, I knew I had to "disregard" most of what I heard and saw because it wouldn't serve me positively after graduation. But sticking your head in the sand with respect to the BS for three years is a very difficult thing to do. Classmates and superiors often mistook our desire to avoid the drama for aloofness and you can feel isolated at times.

At the conclusion of our freshmen year, most priors (and non-prior preppies) went into "stealth" mode, not wanting to stand out and to minimize exposure to the BS. The culture at USAFA was designed to be unique, but I felt it strayed too far from Active Duty so as to do a disservice to its graduates who arrive at their first bases with an overinflated sense of self and unrealistic expectations.

Attending USAFA as a prior was BOTH easier AND harder.

My feelings on the place are mixed: I got a stellar education, but the institution has a way of arresting social development.

Priors face their own unique challenges and leave with their own unique views on the place...
 
skyfox said:
I couldn't make an informed remark on the "prior culture" at the moment, but what I can say is that priors face their own unique, timeless challenges.

Priors have a significant break in academics and so must make that transition back to attending school full-time. This is where the P-school paid huge dividends for me. If you're prior and considering attending USAFA, I'd strongly recommend the prep-school first.

Most military aspects prove to be the easier part for the priors, but instructors and AOCs will lean on the priors to police their classmates' uniforms, rooms, and even their decorum through basic training and your freshmen year. This added responsibility can become a source of resentment if the faculty leans on them too much.

The age difference between the priors and other cadets may not appear to be significant at first (2 - 4 years), but a few years of real-world experience at that age constitutes a significant chasm that's difficult to bridge. My patience was tested! Not only with my classmates in learning to navigate their new military world, but with the upper-classmen who insisted on attitudes and approaches inconsistent with effective officership beyond the institution senseless traditions. Some of your classmates and upperclassmen will defer to your age and experience, but others will hold you in contempt for it.

After the first week of my freshman year, I knew I had to "disregard" most of what I heard and saw because it wouldn't serve me positively after graduation. But sticking your head in the sand with respect to the BS for three years is a very difficult thing to do. Classmates and superiors often mistook our desire to avoid the drama for aloofness and you can feel isolated at times.

At the conclusion of our freshmen year, most priors (and non-prior preppies) went into "stealth" mode, not wanting to stand out and to minimize exposure to the BS. The culture at USAFA was designed to be unique, but I felt it strayed too far from Active Duty so as to do a disservice to its graduates who arrive at their first bases with an overinflated sense of self and unrealistic expectations.

Attending USAFA as a prior was BOTH easier AND harder.

My feelings on the place are mixed: I got a stellar education, but the institution has a way of arresting social development.

Priors face their own unique challenges and leave with their own unique views on the place...
Click to expand...
Nothing you said here is too much different than what I have heard from my priors (as an ALO).

I do try to give them a heads' up as to what to expect, but that first year -- especially that first year -- can be frustratingly difficult. I say "keep your eye on the prize & embrace the suck!"

The other advice I have for all appointees for that first year:
Remember that the upperclassmen are in training, too. They are learning to be leaders. They will try things that succeed and try things that fail. Some are natural leaders, others are not and have to learn the hard way.

After Recognition (which is a couple of weeks away for 2027), think about the upperclassmen who were the best leaders and who were the worst. Learn from both. What works. What doesn't. There are lessons in all the approaches.
 
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