Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290091
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KAREN L. DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Long
``You have to prepare yourself mentally for leaving home. How that's done depends on the person. You may want to spend more time with your family before entering the academy," Carter said.
That's what ther 1994 academy graduate tells prospective applicants who attend the annual Christmas Grassroots Program. Scheduled for Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the Airport Holiday Inn, the program is designed to give students, parents and high school counselors information about the Air Force Academy and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps programs available at selected colleges. The program is presented by academy admissions liaison officers and cadets home on Christmas break.
``The hardest time is basic training,'' Carter said. During those first six weeks, new cadets cannot rely on their usual network of family and friends to get through a summer of grueling GI training, seasoned with honor code instruction and academic preparation.
That time can be just as hard on parents, said Jane Haddad of Roanoke, whose son Alex is in his third year at the Air Force Academy, majoring in electrical engineering.
``From the first day they arrive, they can have no contact with their parents for six weeks, except one phone call. You can write to them, but you can't talk,'' Jane Haddad said. She and her husband, Bill, are co-presidents of the Parents' Club, a support system designed to make parents of cadets aware of the stresses their children will face in a military academy environment.
Cadets graduate as military officers with the rank of second lieutenant and are obligated to remain on active duty, usually for six years.
Capt. Jeffrey Todd Wimmer, who will be speaking at the program, reminds prospective applicants that ``It's not college; it's a job.''
Cadets are in class at least eight hours a day, he said, and ``going to class is your job. You're also required to participate in an athletic event, so every day after school, you report for practice. You're busy from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and afterward you study.''
Cadets must request leave to go off campus, even to visit downtown Colorado Springs, he said. They earn 30 days off a year.
``You always have Sundays off, but if you get in trouble for anything, they may punish you by taking away those Saturday evenings and Sundays,'' Wimmer said.
Summers are busy, too, with survival training, aviation training, glider and parachute training, or exchange programs in active duty overseas.
Wimmer admits that he had a tough time academically. Fortunately, ``the student-to-teacher ratio is low." The instructors are there ``to get you through it,'' and they willingly offer extra time to help, if asked, he said.
Applicants seek a congressional appointment to get into the academy, and that means a lot of paperwork and travel time for interviews.
Admissions liaison officers provide guidance, and their recommendations carry a lot of weight, said Capt. Edward O. Andrews of Vinton, an admissions liaison officer who now serves in the Air Force Reserve.
``The [admissions liaison officer] interviews the candidate in person and finds out what kind of person he or she really is, not just who he or she appears to be on paper,'' he said. Certain intangible qualities, such as self-confidence, leadership skills and a dynamic personality, mean a great deal.
Physical condition is another important consideration for prospective cadets, as are an applicant's grade-point average, class standing, SAT scores, athletic participation, club positions and community involvement.
Dorms at the academy are coed, but the overall ratio of men to women remains low, about 13-to-1, said 2nd Lt. Gina Hilger, daughter of Jerry and Mary Hilger of Blue Ridge. She graduated from the academy in 1993 and is pursuing a master's degree in public affairs and political science at the University of Maryland. She intends to work in the intelligence field after completing additional training at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas.
Although she graduated as valedictorian from Lord Botetourt High School in 1989, Hilger said, ``You can have average smarts and still get in and make it. How successful you are depends on how disciplined you are, on how well you organize your time and manage stress.''
For Hilger, succeeding in the male-oriented military academy environment did not pose any special problems.
Susan Whalen, a Floyd County High School graduate in her first year at the academy, agreed, saying, ``They make it a point to see that everyone is treated equally. The emphasis is on teamwork, and you learn how to watch out not only for yourself, but for the others in your group.''
For those who want officer training but don't want to attend an academy, selected universities and colleges offer another route through the Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC), said Major C. Andrew Hodges Jr., who is in charge of admission liaison officers in Southwest Virginia.
Virginia Tech, Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia offer four-year ROTC programs along with the regular academic curriculum.
``ROTC enables you to go to a civilian university and enter an academic program more fitting to your needs career-wise,'' Hodges said. ``It also provides an opportunity to stay closer to home'' and still receive military and officer training.
by CNB