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Getting into the Blue Zoo: Admissions and Curricula

By: Barney Garcia The United States Air Force Academy, one of the five military academies, is one of the most distinguished service military academies known across the world and of course certainly in the U.S As with all other military academies, getting into one is not easy and is flooded with fierce competition. Apart from the strict intake procedures, and an exhaustive training module that is imparted to the inmates, one also needs to garner professional contacts and manage to earn references through an approved official like a senator, a congressman or such like.

The United States Air Force Academy shares the same rigorous procedure to admit its cadet officers. To be able to secure a place into the academy, the candidate has to be aged 17-23 and unmarried, be devoid of any legal obligations towards any dependents and be of a sound and morally high character, he has to be a citizen of the United States and must be nominated or referred to by an approved official. It goes without saying that the candidate must meet high physical, moral, ethical and intellectual standards – which are all evaluated using standardized tests apart from mental aptitude tests and demonstrated leadership potential previously.

Typically the Graduates are conferred a Bachelor of Science degree and the studies are generally done in subjects pertaining to engineering – Aeronautical Engineering, controls and electronics engineering, applied chemistry and practical physics, life sciences, humanities, social sciences, information technology. Special emphasis is laid on Aeronautics and flight controls apart from high level grooming in ethics and morals with firm grounding on them along with disciplined approach to practical training.

Along with the academic rigor, as in its sister academies, there is an equal emphasis on physical training and the cadets have to go through something known as Basic Cadet Training – which encompasses everything one has to learn about military life, its harshness, the camaraderie and the hard work .It is mandatory to compete in athletics and savor the fierce competitive spirit kindled by the vigor of these sporting events.

Somewhere along the way, in the Basic Cadet Training, the cadet faces the reality of military life. He learns to march, talk, walk and stand like a soldier, learns grooming basics, undergo a physical training program, learn other military skills and a lot more. They also learn survival techniques, parachuting, gliding and a host of other activities somehow related to their careers and jobs at hand.