<p>28 years ago I decided to go to USAFA for mostly what are considered the wrong reasons by many–free education, prestige, etc. At the time, I didn’t think too much about serving, much less making it a career. I wasn’t even sure I’d spend all 4 years there. What did appeal to me about USAFA was that I WOULD NOT be just another college student. I liked the idea of doing many different things, taking lots of different subjects, and getting opportunities to do things college students rarely experience (e.g., fly gliders, travel, do survival training, etc). Plus, I looked at the opportunities USAFA and the AF offered–the amount of doors it would open–and I liked my prospects.</p>
<p>Why did I stay (now approaching 28 years)? Because the opportunities just kept coming… Also, I really made some amazing friends that are now scattered all over the world. There’s something special about experiencing something very tough with a group. The bonds you form are stronger than anything I can describe.</p>
<p>You can be a college student at Yale–and you’ll probably be a very good one. You’ll take classes and then in a few years interview for jobs and set out on an uncertain path. You can go to USAFA, be challenged in ways you never imagined, have experiences that would frighten most other college students, make amazing friends, and have a chance at age 22 to manage, fly, maintain, operate, or develop billion dollar systems in order to defend your country. You’ll be an officer in a 375K strong organization and immediately outrank 70% of them.</p>
<p>Add to that, my parents didn’t pay a penny for my college. I owed them nothing financially and have been financially independent since 27 June 1977. That counts for a LOT in my book.</p>
<p>Looking back, it was a tough call for me to stay a few times in my freshman year, but I wouldn’t have done anything different…</p>