From what I know, it's a crapshoot. You take a lot of USAFA basic preliminary classes your first two years (like at most schools) before getting into the core of your major. The classes are different than civilian schools so some credits do NOT transfer. I am not sure of the % of that.
I've got one. After you commission as an officer, and let's say you had 15 young, immature enlisted (and were still only 75% manned and desperately needing more troops) working for you who were fresh out of basic and tech school, and really did not understand AF leadership, especially at the top where things are political and resource constrained. What would you say to your enlisted troops when they started bad mouthing you and your entire organization anonymously on social media to include warning others not to join the AF?
This is my personal observation. I could be totally wrong. After talking with many many current cadets, grads, admissions officials, current officers, and even a brigadier general on the subject, the conclusion I have drawn is that somewhere along the way (especially under the leadership just prior to current) USAFA got super soft. They are now in a course correct to remedy that. It’s not popular with people who liked it soft. It’s in the early stages. It’s not easy or without mistakes. Is USAFA more an academic institution that provides a commission or is it more a military institution that provides a degree? The pendulum swings between the two and we are moving toward the later. If your goal is to serve and commission you’ll probably like it. If you have other motivations you probably won’t. But one thing is for sure, it will swing again at some point. I will personally find out if this take is correct in the next 4 years.
Every graduating class thinks its program was harder than the class that followed. What you are hearing is the cadet version of that...the birth of that perspective for their graduating class. If the Comm told upper level cadets to start training lower level cadets harder, the complaining would be replaced by complaints about having to give up their free time to conduct training, but in the end they would still come to believe their class had it harder.
The Dean and Supt share your concern about accreditation and they are planning for the loss of civilian faculty by trying to get access to more military faculty and by creating efficiencies in the curriculum (removing excess core credit requirements, dropping unpopular majors). It is unclear if the Supt always wanted more military faculty over civilians, or if he is pursuing this because it is the only source of faculty remaining given the federal government wants to reduce the overall size of the federal civilian workforce, and USAFA is roughly a third civilian faculty. DEI programs and CRT content were removed via a combination of Congressional budget deal (during Biden) and Executive Order (Trump). There are still courses on gender and race at USAFA, but you can be certain they do not mention DEI and CRT.
Pass packages come and go just as Comm's come and go. If cadets act out, passes can also go. I don't know which is to blame here, maybe both. I really doubt there was not enough food. Perhaps not enough food at the right place at the right time. You would be surprised by how many cadets choose not to eat at Mitchell Hall. Some only eat their own food or delivery as upperclass cadets. I am not aware of personnel cuts to the Med Group. The clinic can be overwhelmed when USAFA behaves like a Petri dish. Mass food poisonings have happened in the past and so many people under stress with compromised immune systems mean the flu and colds rip through the doors very quickly.
I had not heard that. Anything that is mandated will not be loved. I've seen the stands filled with blue uniforms, but folks are just sleeping, reading, or doing homework. Now the folks who want to go will go and support the team. Maybe it will turn into the fun place to be on game days since it is not mandated...like at civilian universities.
There at least two sides to every story. You are mostly getting one side here. Sometimes people allowe themselves to become a prisoner to their own beliefs. You can have one junior in one squadron who has one commander and is majoring in Aero Engr and he thinks USAFA is the worst place in the world. His roommate can be a junior in the same squadron with the same commander and majoring in Aero and think USAFA is the greatest place in the world. Guess which one is more likely to post on this forum?
Replying to the bolded portion, it seems like those two options shouldn't be mutually exclusive. If you get a degree and commission that places you in logistics, you should aim to be the best in the Air Force and, if and when you get out, so good that Amazon wants to scoop you up and pay you accordingly. If you get a degree and commission that places you in a cockpit, you should aim to be the best in the Air Force and, if and when you get out, so good that a major airline or commercial carrier wants to scoop you up and pay you accordingly. And so on, and so on.
Do we know Ops AF is definitely being nixed? Or is this another I think I heard from someone that maybe.... Basically, do we have credible sources?
No credible source for Ops AF. I really hope that is not nixed! Club and research travel, yes, more restricted.
Thank you for this post. It makes a lot of sense.
Thank you for the clarification. I hope Ops AF stays and they lift other restrictions. There has to be money for these programs somewhere, right?
What is Ops AF? Again, I am showing my ignorance.
Not sure if it's a money issue or they want them at USAFA for training availability.
The answer is always on a spectrum for sure. I’m not saying it’s all one or the other. Just where does it fall in the spectrum at any given time. Seems to be the “existential question.”
A three-week program that allows cadets the opportunity to visit an operational Air Force base and learn how the Air Force functions outside of the academy before commissioning as a second lieutenant. They travel abroad to places like Italy, Germany, Japan, Korea or within the US to Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia etc..
Yeah, that sounds awesome and worthwhile. I didn't know its name, but that program is one of the heavy selling points during football recruiting.
