Into the Wild, Blue Yonder

9 Jun 2010-Went to the USAF Academy yesterday. It is an 18,500 acre complex that is mostly wooded, with a big section cut out for the college and student dorms. They house over 4000 students a year here, graduating just over 1000 1st Lieutenants a year.



They have maps to direct you to different overlooks to see the main grounds.



But the best thing to do is to drive right into the parking lot and walk a short path right up to the Cadet Chapel and Quad. Right behind the Chapel is a display area that has planes and statues of people important to both the Academy and to the country.

This is a statue on the left commemorating the service of women during WWII, while on the right is a tribute to the Tuskeegee Airmen, black soldiers trained to fly and who served in segregated units during WWII.

Beyond the statues are both the Chapel and directly out front of that is the Cadet area, where they go to school, their dorms, the drill field, etc.

The Cadet Chapel is the biggest draw here. The military guy in the above picture told us that there were areas in this building for Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Buddists, and Muslims, but we never found the Muslim area. The top floor was for Protestants...it is not broken down by Baptists, Methodists, etc., just general Protestant. It was really beautiful. Look at the organ!

Downstairs is the Catholic area...also very beautiful...look at the windows. I don't know why it was roped off, because the Protestant's area wasn't.

The 1st picture below is the Buddist's area...only 3 cushions on the floor so I don't think there are that many students of this faith. And then there is the Jewish area...another small room, but not as small as the Buddhists. I think the circled thing is probably the 10 Commandents in Hebrew???!!

The military guy also told us that although they have recently had some problems about it, at the top of these hills is a circle in the ground for the "Earth" religions. At least one of the Earth religions is Wicca, so some people have given them slack for supposedly allowing witchcraft! What a trip!

In the Visitor Center there were a couple displays. This one shows the number of men and women in each class, along with the percentage of minorities.

They had a US map with pins showing where all the students were from. Take a look at the New England area as opposed to the state of Texas. Is it any wonder why the military as a whole is a very conservative institution?

In the profile they show the percentage of students who were valedictorians, sports participants, etc. And this is what one of their rooms looks like...usually 2 to a room, sometimes 3. We were told that they can't have a TV in their room until they are seniors, and can't own a car until they are juniors.

I think the majority of students graduate with engineering degrees, and over half end up as pilots. They have over 80 programs the students must choose from for extra-curricular activities, everything from football to fencing to falconry. I thought this falconry was pretty interesting.

Outside the Visitor's Center, and quite a few times while walking around the campus, we saw Cadets giving tours to high school students...ever recruiting, I guess!!!