[College Information] Airforce Academy

[SuchSweetSadism]

in Colorado.

How presitigious is it/how hard to get in?
Is it specifically just training for the airforce, or after graduation can you go in any direction you want, any obligation to the airforce at all afterward?
Aside from just some nationalism and perhaps christianity presences, is there likely to be any indoctrination of any kind (whether political or religious)?
What are the most extremely strenous scenarious that a cadet might endure while enrolled in the academy?
Any likelihood of being sent to an ongoing war/like automatic enlistment?
Is there an option of pursuing other-type majors that would typically have nothing to do with the military?
If anyone lives in Colorado or has been there, how urban is Colorado Springs?

Erm, I usually feel uncomfortable about a woman joining the military. For their privacy being violated, out in a different country (perhaps even 3rd world), by American male soldiers.
It's sad, but it happens.
How unlikely would it be for a woman to be isolated from the rest of the academy and taken advantage of?


I've looked up, asked after, and heard some information but I wanted to see what a "general public" response would be, or if anyone could direct me to a good link other than collegeboard's or something biased like their home-link;
http://www.usafa.af.mil/


Thank you, any information at all is appreciated.  

[Arcanas]

Well, this would be the first I've heard of it... So I won't be much help.  

[Xikrai the Risen]

Airforce academy is strictly for training Airforce Officers. You can get whatever degree you want from them, but you owe the Airforce time in. If it's like with Navy, then it's 4 years active duty time. All the military academies are prestigious and expensive, but what's cool is that they're all scholarship only pretty much. Thing is though, if you drop our or get kicked out you owe the military all that money spent on you for school because it costs so much. If you're just looking yo do something ROTC like without having to owe time to the military, look elsewhere like VMI, The Citadel, Villanova or any other military school, but not any of the academies.  

[LorienLlewellyn]

I'm not an expert by any means. I have a couple of Airforce friends though, so I have heard a little about what it's like.

They both got Psych degrees through the Airforce. But now they owe the Airforce a bunch of time, have to move from state to state as the Airforce tells them to, have to work for the Airforce (they basically babysit bombs or something as I understand it), and have to ship off to war if the Airforce tells them to.

They both love it, even though it's ended some otherwise good relationships for them (women said they weren't willing to move around, weren't willing to have a partner who was shipped off to war, etc.). But to me (just my personal opinion) it seems like signing your life away to something that's probably going to be stupid and dangerous.

And to answer your question about being taken advantage of:
"A Veterans Administrative Study financed by the US Army Medical Corps reported that 1 in 3 women in the military were raped."
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Email_blast_september2_2009.vp.html

So it's a pretty big decision. If you're interested, talk to someone. I think they have recruitment people all over the place. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, maybe the Peace Corps would be more up your alley?  

[SuchSweetSadism]

Thank you so much for all the responses.

I'm still interested; any more information on any of those mentioned, Peace Corps, VMI, The Citadel, Villanova.

Primarily experiences, but any other information is very appreciated.

Also after time is served, there aren't any further obligatory duties to the military are there? D:

@ LorienLlewllyn, yeah it's a sad truth.

I feel as though there are too many cases where the military doesn't take care of it's own, and are lubricious about the events that occur within their scope. It's a shifty business, which is disconcerting enough.  

[Undakai]

LorienLlewellyn

And to answer your question about being taken advantage of:
"A Veterans Administrative Study financed by the US Army Medical Corps reported that 1 in 3 women in the military were raped."
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Email_blast_september2_2009.vp.html

In further reading of the source material, I am made very leary of the accuracy of those numbers, specifically from such a small and as specific a sample size that was used, and personally, I don't trust the source site for accuracy at all.  

[LorienLlewellyn]

Undakai

In further reading of the source material, I am made very leary of the accuracy of those numbers, specifically from such a small and as specific a sample size that was used, and personally, I don't trust the source site for accuracy at all.

That isn't the only study or source out there. If you don't like that one, feel free to browse for more. I also found the links below, but there are many more out there.
http://usmvaw.com/
http://www.stopmilitaryrape.org/
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3848/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3797346&page=1
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html
http://www.alternet.org/rights/57378/

But honestly, it doesn't really matter what the exact numbers are. We know there is rape in the military. And even one is too many.  

[SuchSweetSadism]

LorienLlewellyn

Undakai

In further reading of the source material, I am made very leary of the accuracy of those numbers, specifically from such a small and as specific a sample size that was used, and personally, I don't trust the source site for accuracy at all.

That isn't the only study or source out there. If you don't like that one, feel free to browse for more. I also found the links below, but there are many more out there.
http://usmvaw.com/
http://www.stopmilitaryrape.org/
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3848/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3797346&page=1
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html
http://www.alternet.org/rights/57378/

But honestly, it doesn't really matter what the exact numbers are. We know there is rape in the military. And even one is too many.

Yeah, there are a lot of sordid acts by military.

Rape was just the one I was scrutinizing at the moment.

My Lai Massacre... rape and more.  

[Undakai]

LorienLlewellyn

Undakai

In further reading of the source material, I am made very leary of the accuracy of those numbers, specifically from such a small and as specific a sample size that was used, and personally, I don't trust the source site for accuracy at all.

That isn't the only study or source out there. If you don't like that one, feel free to browse for more. I also found the links below, but there are many more out there.
http://usmvaw.com/
http://www.stopmilitaryrape.org/
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3848/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3797346&page=1
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html
http://www.alternet.org/rights/57378/

But honestly, it doesn't really matter what the exact numbers are. We know there is rape in the military. And even one is too many.

It wasn't so much your site as it was the source material your site was getting it's info from. Either way, you are right, it is a problem, though with most of the statistics out there for rape, I'm almost positive it would be by the military's definition of rape, which is a bit...strict (and under which, an extremely high percentage of military males have been raped. Every time you see a man drink an alchoholic beverage and then sometime later that night get "lucky", according to military standards, that male was raped).

As far as your last comment goes, we know there is rape outside the military, as well.  

[SuchSweetSadism]

Yes, there's rape both in and outside the military. But the fact the military is an institution that can be looked over and maintained and yet there are still acts like these that occur, and they are swept under the carpet.

It's slippery business.  

[Undakai]

If you have EVER been to a SARC brief (which you should have one at least every half year of some sort), you know its not "swept under the rug". They might not shout it out from the roof tops (you shouldn't expect them too), but it's not something that's kept a secret...at least, internally.