Your son/daughter goes where???

fencersmother said:
and those gift shop purchases and squadron t-shirts on parents weekend...HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS
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I've got more Navy swag than the Chief of Naval Operations.
Coming home from A-N game, wearing said swag, lady says to me "Ah, Annapolis...your son must just love being able to see the Colts on Sunday's....the Midwest so nice this time of year.....hope he doesn't have to be near any water when he graduates"
 
When chatting with someone the other day, I mentioned that my DD had 3 nominations to USAFA. She said, "Well, she will still be able to go to college after that, right?!?!?"
 
I heard this one last week. You mean you are going to leave a 200+k scholarship on the table to enlist?
I said "well that scholarship is my plan C". He replied I hate to see your plan B! I thought you were smarter then that.
What are your plans and goals for the future? I said "well my short term goal right now is to hang out with smarter people".
 
I'm not going to Air Force, but I'm going to KP. When I tell people I'm going to The US Merchant Marine Academy, they respond by saying "oh, you're going to be a marine". When I explain to them what the school is really about, they then go on to tell people I'm going to the Naval Academy!!!! I love this thread btw. This made my day.
 
Dsstern98 said:
I'm not going to Air Force, but I'm going to KP. When I tell people I'm going to The US Merchant Marine Academy, they respond by saying "oh, you're going to be a marine". When I explain to them what the school is really about, they then go on to tell people I'm going to the Naval Academy!!!! I love this thread btw. This made my day.
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I have heard my share of funny remarks when people hear I'm going to USAFA, but I imagine KP must be so much harder to explain. :p Good luck to you!

Here are a couple of new ones, and YES, I have actually heard these:

1.
Them: Where are you going to school?
Me: The Air Force Academy.
T: Oh, how's it going in SAN ANTONIO?
M: :rolleyes2:

2. "Oh, so after you graduate, you're going to enlist?"

In all seriousness, though, people really are curious and I generally enjoy the opportunity to enlighten them. Pretty much everyone thinks USAFA is really cool once I explain it. :D I am often reminded of just how much of a privilege it is to be a cadet.
 
My DD said the most frequent questions she gets: Have you signed on the dotted line/Signed your life away to the US Gov? or Have you taken your Oath?....
 
Sometimes I think that it is the word "Academy" that throws people. Many private high schools and even middle schools are called Academies.

People tend not to really listen anyway (think about how many times we ask someone their name and never really listen close enough to get it and remember it) so when they hear a branch , Army, Air Force, Navy that is all they register.

Would be an interesting study in human response if we were to try saying "My son/Daughter attends the National College of Engineering, Flight, and Military Studies" or some such nonsense.

BTW I am totally guilty of the not really listening thing!
 
Classmate: "Are you going on the Spain trip this summer?"
Me: "Nope, I'll already be at the Air Force Academy."
Classmate: "Oh, are you doing a summer program there?"
Me: "No, I will be in Basic Cadet Training."
Classmate: "Yeah, so you're doing a summer program."
 
Friend: So where does your daughter want to go to college?
Me: She will be applying to the Air Force Academy next year
Friend: oh ya, my husband went there.
Me: Oh really, in Colorado Springs?
Friend: He was in the Army.
Me: Oh, well this isn't the same thing
Friend: If you need help getting her in (after I explained the process), let me know. I know a warrant officer in the Army that can pull some strings.
Me: Thanks...I'll let you know...
 
Friend: If you need help getting her in (after I explained the process), let me know. I know a warrant officer in the Army that can pull some strings.
Me: Thanks...I'll let you know...[/QUOTE]

The "pull some strings" was heard over and over during the application process. Now all I can do is laugh. For the new applicants - the only strings to be pulled are on your thinking caps and boots!
 
Sydney C. said:
I've got more Navy swag than the Chief of Naval Operations.
Coming home from A-N game, wearing said swag, lady says to me "Ah, Annapolis...your son must just love being able to see the Colts on Sunday's....the Midwest so nice this time of year.....hope he doesn't have to be near any water when he graduates"
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I have enjoyed re-reading some of the gems in this thread, and look forward to more.

The comment about the "near any water" reminded me this does not just happen around going to a SA. One of our alumni sponsor family sons, while going through the submarine nuclear power pipeline his first two years after USNA, brought his wife of almost a year to meet us. These visits are always good for sharing wisdom about PCS moves, military spouse challenges, etc. She commented she hoped he didn't have to go on deployments on his submarine, because they hadn't been apart one day since they started dating. She followed up by saying she hoped he would get assigned to a submarine in a Texas port, near her family. Note: no subs homeported in TX. She was from a family with no military background, and life in the submarine pipeline is back-to-back schoolhouses.

Occasionally the term "gob smacked" is just right. I nearly fell off the kitchen stool where we were having a glass of wine. I didn't say anything, but my husband took him off to walk the dogs and told me later that they had a man-to-man conversation about secrets to a long marriage. They are still married. He has deployed. Wish I knew how that first "uh, honey..." conversation went between the two of them.

Edit: the focus of this thread should be the inane comments made by Well-Meaning But Uninformed Folks about your DD/DS officer program plans. Many vets/currently serving/mil spouses posters could easily fill another thread with what the aforesaid Folks say about military life.
 
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Capt MJ I like your suggestion for a title. . I'll see if I can edit/ incorporate it with your permission of course.
 
Got this the other day from a young lady in her late twenties who works in one of our offices:

Where does your son go to school?

West Point.

Where is that?

New York.

West Point College?

No, It's the United States Military Academy.

There's a military academy?

Yes, for training officers for the Army.

Is it like a college?

It is a college. He will earn an engineering degree and then he will serve as an officer in the Army.

It doesn't sound like college. Are you sure?

Maybe not. He likes to fool me.

(God help us.)
 
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