USAF Academy or ROTC

[AlbieF15]

LMAO . . . and we all pay homage to NATOPS, too. ROTF.

As to the grasshopper's questions, it's hard to economically beat the cost of an Academy education, whether it's Annapolis, the venerated Military place on the Hudson, or the upstart Zoomie Land.

An academy grad friend of mine once passed this cliche on to me...old news to most but it made me laugh at the time:

"A million dollar education--shoved up your @ss a nickel at a time...."

Can't beat the price. But...I'm glad my parents financial planning let me choose another route. However you get there...its worth the effort.

 

[800Dog]

Get an education, some p###y and develop socially. Attend a real college! Enjoy the ride.

 

[ExAF]

Platinum

Not a huge difference. No more than the difference between Gold and Lead.

Since Scrapdog isn't around, I sub for him. It's not Lead, Occam, it's Platinum! No boat training required...THANK GOD!

 

[DarinFred]

To quote a Dos Gringos song...

"But once you're on the deck my friend you'll never be the same
'Cause you're stuck on a boat in the middle of nowhere with five thousand other men
Join the navy? I don't think so"

Academy or ROTC...I'd recommend AF.

 

[RogerMOSA]

Oh boy. Not this again.... Reread this thread. Good "discussion" of the pros/cons of the USNA/USAFA vs ROTC debate.

And as always, disregard all posts by DaveGriffin.

http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=55372&highlight=Naval+Academy

 

[Occam's Razor]

Since Scrapdog isn't around, I sub for him.

Why is it Scrappy goes "MIA" every 28-days? :laugh:

Oh well...you'll do. I have to type s-l-o-w-l-y when I post for him anyway.:laugh:

It's not Lead, Occam, it's Platinum!

Yeah, right!

If it looks like lead...feels like lead...and flies like lead...

...it's LEAD.

"Platinum" refers to one of the festive shades available for ascots.

 

[Fox-Tree]

An academy grad friend of mine once passed this cliche on to me...old news to most but it made me laugh at the time:

"A million dollar education--shoved up your @ss a nickel at a time...."

Can't beat the price. But...I'm glad my parents financial planning let me choose another route. However you get there...its worth the effort.

I'm sure the Academy's have their moments that you can fondly look back on.

I'd say go for ROTC - have 4 years of normal college life and memories (or lack thereof, on occasion).

I went through AFROTC with the firm belief that you couldn't make 2nd Lt below the zone.

 

[ExAF]

Why is it Scrappy goes "MIA" every 28-days? :laugh:

Oh well...you'll do. I have to type s-l-o-w-l-y when I post for him anyway.:laugh:

Yeah, right!

If it looks like lead...feels like lead...and flies like lead...

...it's LEAD.

OK...Put the comics down and feel free to type at "normal speed." I wouldn't expect a jarhead to know the difference between lead and platinum. Not sure where scrappy is but I'm sure he'll chime in when he can.

"Platinum" refers to one of the festive shades available for ascots.

I keep telling you its scarf, not ascot. Big difference. Ascots were the old SAC missle weenies and sky cops. Scarfs are a tradition dating back to the WWI intrepid aviators. They actually had a function back then (used to wipe oil and spray from the flight goggles). Nobody really wears them any more, but I hear pastel-colored polos are still all the rage on the boat.

 

[Scrapdog]

Why is it Scrappy goes "MIA" every 28-days? :laugh:

Alright, now you've done it you mutherf**ka!!

 

[Occam's Razor]

SCRAPPY!

Don't get miffed, bro. You can still be a Thunderbird!

Male...Female...bi-curious...it's one big happy Air Force!

Question 1: How many Kadena crew chiefs does it take to air start an Eagle?

Question 2: How many Kadena crew chiefs does it take to air start an Eagle driver?

Question 3: Vice versa?

 

[stupidpilot]

Are you guys kidding? To me it's a no brainer. Go USAFA. It has alot of cache. Any prospective employer who sees that academy on your education background is going to add alot of points to your chances of getting hired.

 

[stonewall]

If you want to live in a "nanny" state with someone to tell you when to go to bed, wakeup eat, take a dump, go to class, march, iron your uniform, shine your shoes, then go AFA. If you want to learn to live on you own, develop self disipline, become self reliant then go to the ROTC detachment of your choice. Good Luck...

Yeah, that's exactly what it was like. And all Academy grads are socially inept when they graduate, can't balance a checkbook, can't do their own laundry, can't cook, and only hit on fat chicks.

Go to the Academy if you can. Sure, it sucks, but you won't regret it 10 years after the fact. I've been gone since '95, still keep in touch with several friends, and only have hazy memories of the triple threat saturdays. I do, however, clearly remember the massive amounts of alcohol me and my buds used to quaff. Not that that's the important thing about college, but you will still be able to do some "normal college" stuff.

We had limited UPT slots in '95. USAFA got 225 for about 700 dudes and ROTC got 100 slots....nationwide. The only ROTC guys in my UPT class +/- a few classes were TOP-NOTCH guys. All had 4.0's in quadruple physicnukemechelecspace engineering or something retarded like that and were unit commanders from MIT and Stanford. Well, we did have one Auburn guy, but he struggled. Language barrier. Anyway, if you think you can be that guy, go ahead and go to ROTC.

Also fast foward 20 years. Anyone who believes connections don't matter, just look at our Purple Airline. We alread have 10+ '95 grads on property, and I think I've written a rec for each one of them. Another non-pilot bud just got hired as a lawyer with a very chachi law office headed by a '73 grad. The same can be said for USNA or USMC.

Don't buy into the whole "if you go the Academy you'll be a social hermit for four years." It's just not true. Good luck with whatever you decide.

PS. Once you walk in the door at UPT, it doesn't matter how where you went, where you got your commission, what you majored in, or how many flight hours you have in Skyhawk. The only guy we washed out was a 2000 hr CFII....in instruments.

 

[BeeVee]

Fully agree with Magnum...
I'm a '90 Grad and have never regretted going (except maybe for the first 10 months)....

As said earlier, if you can get into an Academy, go!

 

[Occam's Razor]

The only ROTC guys in my UPT class +/- a few classes were TOP-NOTCH guys. All had 4.0's in quadruple physicnukemechelecspace engineering or something retarded like that and were unit commanders from MIT and Stanford. Well, we did have one Auburn guy, but he struggled. Language barrier. Anyway, if you think you can be that guy, go ahead and go to ROTC.

Not to act too gay...but now I'm crushin' on MAGNUM!.

Well written, bro!

Tooooo funny!

 

[JimNtexas]

"If you want to live in a "nanny" state with someone to tell you when to go to bed, wakeup eat, take a dump, go to class, march, iron your uniform, shine your shoes, then go AFA."

I had a good friend in my AFROTC class at the University of Texas when we were freshman. He joined a fraternity, stayed drunk all the time, and flunked out. Fortunately his Dad was a senior officer and his Mom was well connected politically. He obtained a slot at the AFA, did very well there, and retired recently as an O-6 after a great carrer in fighters. I think he'd be the first to say that at 19 he wasn't up to the responsibility the University of Texas demanded of its students and needed to be nannied for a while until he grew up.

Magnum is also correct, AFA grads have a far tighter bond than graduates of a big state school.

One interesting thing I saw twice in my career happened twice. In both cases there was an AFA grad pilot who had problems of one kind or another. In both cases senior AFA grads drove these weaker guys out of the service.