Congrats to your DS on his appointment. I am a bit surprised by the questions, they are pretty basic if you had done some research or visited the AFA. What caused him to apply to the AFA? Doesn't sound like he really knows what he's getting into.
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Questions?
- Thread starter lfaulk
- Start date
Congrats to your DS on his appointment. I am a bit surprised by the questions, they are pretty basic if you had done some research or visited the AFA. What caused him to apply to the AFA? Doesn't sound like he really knows what he's getting into.
Question about squad size and squadron size?
During the day with a cadet, the officer explained the size of a squad, squadron etc. but I (the parent) did not write it all down. Could you please expain the size of all and how many cadets from each class comprise each?
During the day with a cadet, the officer explained the size of a squad, squadron etc. but I (the parent) did not write it all down. Could you please expain the size of all and how many cadets from each class comprise each?
Congrats to your DS on his appointment. I am a bit surprised by the questions, they are pretty basic if you had done some research or visited the AFA. What caused him to apply to the AFA? Doesn't sound like he really knows what he's getting into.
A bit harsh, don't you think? Only one of the questions has a concrete answer (cadets will live in the dorms all 4 years), the rest of the answers are all subjective and it can be interesting and enlightening to get different perspectives on a topic. Like I mentioned in my previous post, my son felt BCT 1 was not nearly as physically tough as he had been lead to believe, but he was a cross country runner in great shape. I'm sure there were basics that would totally disagree with his statement, from the stories I've heard about kids barely making it through a mile run, heaving after a training session. Nothing wrong with wanting to get some info no matter what you've already heard.
Candace, my son would say finishing Recognition was the best thing about his first year! That has made a huge difference to him.
A bit harsh, don't you think? Only one of the questions has a concrete answer (cadets will live in the dorms all 4 years), the rest of the answers are all subjective and it can be interesting and enlightening to get different perspectives on a topic. Like I mentioned in my previous post, my son felt BCT 1 was not nearly as physically tough as he had been lead to believe, but he was a cross country runner in great shape. I'm sure there were basics that would totally disagree with his statement, from the stories I've heard about kids barely making it through a mile run, heaving after a training session. Nothing wrong with wanting to get some info no matter what you've already heard.
Candace, my son would say finishing Recognition was the best thing about his first year! That has made a huge difference to him.
Didn't mean to be harsh, but after reading various topic threads on here for the last several weeks and seeing the desire by many to gain an appointment, and knowing what research my DS did to know he "wanted" an AFA appointment, I was just surprised. The effort it takes to apply is incredible, so I was just caught off guard that someone could not know the living arrangements.
My daughter, a C2C, has found that cadets (and their parents) come from widely different backgrounds and arrive at the Academy with widely varying amounts of information. For the parent with questions -- there are several books available on Amazon (for $20 or less) concerning what it means to be a cadet at each of the service academies. The one about the Air Force Academy (titled something like The Candidates Handbook) (published in 2007) is a little out of date in some areas but in general provides an overview of the Academy that would be helpful to a parent who has never visited the Academy. Although we live in Colorado and had visited the Academy a number of times before our daughter entered, my husband and I both read the Handbook during the application process and gained a better understanding of what our daughter could expect if appointed. For a non-military family, the Academy process and life is much different from anything you as a parent may have experienced during your own college experience and is very different from anything that your cadet's friends, siblings, etc. may experience at college. You will have many questions -- if your son or daughter is fortunate to have a good AOL you might be able to make an appointment with him or her and have some of your questions answered that way. These forums are a good resource -- but again, folks approach these forums with varying levels of information.
As a follow up to what I wrote above, re different parents having different amounts of information available to them -- one other difference that we have noted -- USAFA is different from USNA, USMA and USCGA even in its location and proximity to the town in which it is located. Many parents, who have never been to the Academy to visit, but who may have visited USNA, USMA or USCGA don't realize -- until told or until arriving at an event at USAFA -- that the Cadet Area sits more than 5 miles from the nearest hotel, restaurant, etc. Even when your cadet is able to leave campus -- it requires (generally) a car. A cadet at USAFA cannot "walk" into town or the grocery or Starbucks for that matter. In that regard, USAFA is different from USNA, USMA and USGA (I've not been to the Merchant Marine Academy so I don't know its set up).(Fortunately, there is a nice coffee "shop" and a small convenience type store within the USAFA Cadet Area for cadets and for visitors during Parents Weekend). No matter how much you read about the Academy, there will be points like this that you may not know until you or your cadet experiences what it means to live at USAFA.
During the day with a cadet, the officer explained the size of a squad, squadron etc. but I (the parent) did not write it all down. Could you please expain the size of all and how many cadets from each class comprise each?
Maybe someone else with more details will jump in here to answer also, but here is what I know. During BCT, there are 10 squadrons, each with 4 flights. Squadrons will be named (Aggressors, Barbarians, etc.). Then each flight is A, B, C, or D. So your basic could be a Barbarian Flight A, for example, during BCT. Assuming approx. 1050 basics will enter this year, then roughly 105 will be in each BCT squadron and 26-27 per flight. There are also elements, a smaller group within the flight, but I'm not sure how many basics are in an element. My son said most activities in BCT were done with his flight, sometimes with his entire squadron, and occasionally with his element.
After BCT, the new cadets join their academic year squadrons (approx. 25-30 new cadets to each squadron depending on how many dropped out during BCT). Currently there are 40 squadrons averaging probably 100 to 110 total cadets per squadron=wing strength over 4000. Each squadron is numbered (1-40) and has a name. Squadron 1 is Mighty Mach One, for example. I believe each squadron is also split into flights and elements (my son has mentioned his element) with cadets from each class being in each. I don't know how many cadets of each class are in a squadron--I'm sure it varies. I'm sure its not equally split with each class being 25% of the squadron, as incoming class sizes has varied from year to year, and disenrollments affect squad size also. After freshman year, upcoming C3C's are assigned to a permanent (different in most cases) squadron. I would think the AFA could take that opportunity to balance out the size of a squadron if necessary.
Hope this makes sense! Someone else fill in details/correct if necessary!
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helpful information
Oh, he really has visited the academy, and older brother is a WP grad. DS has heard a lot about life at the academy, and this is what he has wanted for a l ong time. Hearing information from others seems comforting and helpful.
Oh, he really has visited the academy, and older brother is a WP grad. DS has heard a lot about life at the academy, and this is what he has wanted for a l ong time. Hearing information from others seems comforting and helpful.