The Long Goodbye

The Air Force Academy Class of 2022 is almost upon us. In-Processing Week is just about here!  

The Family Maas are in the final stages of the countdown to I-Day.  The USAFA Admissions Office is busy putting together the bags containing the in-processing packets which will be handed out on I-Day.  One of the most important items in those bags are the colored ID cards that the Basics will wear during BCT.  The cards are color coded to identify which BCT squadron they are in.  Here's an example of Barbarians. Graham will be Hellcats.

 

We know many of you are wondering what I-day will be like. This year will be a change from previous years in that it will begin with our arrival at the Cadet Field House. In-processing begins about 0700. That’s 7:00AM for you non-military folks.  Most appointees and families will now enter through the USAFA North Gate and follow the signs to the Cadet Field House, according to their assigned reporting times. Graham is to report at 11:00AM.

 

The USAFA team of WebGuy will have photographers deployed at the various in-processing stations both at the field house and also in the cadet area.   

 

After parking, we will proceed up the steps and follow the crowd to a sign-in station on the west side of the field house where the appointees will sign in and we all will wait until we are called into the auditorium in groups of about 200 for a short welcome briefing.  We know the area well, as Graham has competed in various fencing tournaments on the field house grounds.

 

 

With the staggered reporting times, the wait won't be too long. Families are allowed to stay with their appointees at this point in the process.

Once our group is called, we will proceed down a short stairway and corridor and enter a small auditorium with seating for about 200.  Here appointees will receive their first "welcome" from one of the senior leaders of the Academy. 

Pictured below is the briefing room. (Photo was taken during an unrelated event.)

 

This stop only takes a few minutes.  This is where we will say our goodbyes following the welcome briefing.  Word of advice from those who have gone before... "Don't wait till then to say what you need to say". We have already started to say what we want to say to each other, and will have three days together in Colorado Springs before I-Day comes. I expect the separation to be both joy and sadness, but mostly joy.

 

Appointees will be exiting out one door of the auditorium to begin in-processing, and families will be exiting out another.  This will be the last time we will have direct contact until we get that call on Doolie Day out.  Parents will be guided to the info fair where the Academy has set up numerous information tables for the families to find out about Academy programs and get answers to questions.  They will have Kleenex available. We will also be able to observe Graham going through the beginning of in-processing and boarding the bus from the balconies above the indoor track and outside above the bus loading area. 

 

After leaving the welcome briefing the appointees head down to the indoor track, get their in-processing packets and get started. The time that each appointee spends before heading to the buses is relatively brief since most of their info was submitted via their online admissions portal. 

 

Once they have their packets, they put on the ID lanyard with their name and squadron information, including their BCT squadron color (again, Graham will be Hellcats...yellow).  They will wear these ID badges throughout BCT. We will be thankful that they do when we see them all in uniform. Webguy all use the badges to identify the squadron they are photographing. They sort their photos into galleries by squadron during BCT to make our search for locating Graham in the sea of thousands of photos easier. Again, we will not have any contact with him, and seeing a photo or two over the next six weeks is all we will have. 

The appointee in this photo below is a Barbarian. Next to her is a simple chart to help identify each squadron by color.

         

Moving on with in-processing, after they pick up their packets, the appointees step over to another station to get the combination to their post office box.  They also have an amnesty box where they can turn in items like fake IDs without any consequences. 

One last stop for a scan of their ID to identify where they are in the process…

And it’s time to head out the door for the bus ride to the cadet area where the rest of in-processing will be completed and the cadet journey will begin.

 

 

 

Once they get on that bus, the training cadre are waiting to greet them.

There are many more steps ahead for them during this first day, (which the Webguy photographers will cover), but that will all take place in the cadet area.   

There are many activities for families, including the info fair in the field house and the briefing by the Commandant of Cadets and other senior academy leaders at 1:30PM in Arnold Hall. Our next stop after Graham gets on that bus will be the FAMFEST hosted by the Colorado Parents Club and the Assn of Graduates at Doolittle Hall. Hopefully, the have some wine and beer. And Kleenex.