UPALAC | Planning your visit to USAFA

Planning your visit to USAFA

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS
AIRPORTS : Colorado Springs Airport (COS) is a 45 min drive to the Academy's south entrance. Denver International Airport (DIA) is 1 hr 45 min away from the Academy's north entrance. (Assuming good weather conditions.) While no Academy shuttles are regularly available for transit from the airports to the Academy, during Appointee Orientation the Academy offers free shuttle rides from key hotel locations to Doolittle Hall on the Academy campus during the early morning & late afternoon on designated days. Taxi service is available by phone 719.777.7777.

HOTELS/MOTELS : COS is a popular vacation destination during Parents' Weekend and Appointee Orientation. Book your hotel reservation several months in advance if possible. COS is very spread out, with the drive from the Academy entrances (either north or south) to Doolittle Hall on the campus requiring 10-20 min depending on traffic. A rental car is invaluable for travel between the Academy & your hotel.

RESTAURANTS : Most COS restaurants offer a free continental breakfast, with some offering eggs & more. COS is filled with restaurants of varying degrees of quality & cost, with something to please everybody. Many restaurants are within walking distance of the hotels closest to the Academy.

WHAT TO DO : For Parents' Weekend (PW), much depends on your cadet. Some cadets are eager to visit the sights, take in a movie (they won't have seen one since In-Processing), & visit a nice restaurant. Other cadets may want to sleep in at your hotel room, rest & relax most of the time, & order room service. Wait to hear what your cadet wants to do. One recommendation is to visit Jack's Valley, the woodsy site of Basic Cadet Training II, where your basic cadet underwent many memorable challenges. The tour is a not-to-be-missed event with your cadet, who will hopefully narrate along the way. At the least, upperclassmen man some of the stations at Jack's Valley & offer insight into your basic cadet's activities. And don't forget to visit the Information Fair at Arnold Hall on Friday of PW for the freebies and parents club fundraisers!

WHAT TO BRING TO COS :
The Academy is 7,258 feet above sea level. Most parents need a couple of days to acclimate to the elevation. The air is dry, & a wind constantly blows from the mountains, varying in degree only by velocity. When visiting the Academy, bring ...

Government-issued ID

proof of car insurance

sun screen

umbrella (it can rain at a moment's notice in the Rockies

lip balm & moisturizer

sweater, jacket, or coat for the cooler weather at higher elevation

water to stay hydrated

camera

cell phone to contact your cadet, for he/she is allowed to use it during PW

WHEN TO VISIT?
Families new to the Academy often ask when to visit, especially if time or budget-constrained. From Appointee Orientation (April), In-Processing (June), Acceptance Day (August), to Parents' Weekend (end of August - early September) many parents of incoming appointees have a hard time deciding.

The Appointee Orientation is one of the best opportunities to visit the Academy with your child when s/he is making the decision on whether or not to attend. It affords both your cadet & you a good time to get all of your questions answered by current cadets & the command staff.

For In-Processing (InP), many appointees choose to travel alone to the Academy, while some appointees want their families with them before they ascend the stairs. It is a personal choice, but know that several companies & individuals offer very good DVDs of the major milestones during the first year the appointee is at the Academy.

Acceptance Day (AD) is an accomplishment that was opened to families a few years back. AD is when the basic cadets are formally accepted into the Cadet Wing, & pinned by a cadet officer with boards on their previously bare shoulders. It is a proud moment. Some parents visit the Academy; most do not during AD.

The optimal choice if you have only one opportunity to visit is the Parents' Weekend (PW) that coincides with Labor Day weekend. It's a chance to discover what your basic cadet underwent, to meet his/her roommates & friends, to meet his/her professors & instructors, & to meet the squadron command. The football game pre-show is a not-to-be-missed spectacular extravaganza that includes flying jets in formation flying low over Falcon Stadium, the Academy Band performing rousing songs, hang-gliders landing on the football field, & the entire Cadet Wing marching in. Many of the squadrons also offer tailgate BBQs pre-game, offering a good opportunity to meet other squadron parents. PW is when parents get to visit the many places that their basic cadet has written home about, making the memories more poignant from Mitchell Hall (the dining center) to Jack's Valley (the site of BCT II).