AOG Presidents Conference 2019

Day 2

This morning was dedicated to networking with State Parents Club leadership so we can work together when we get back home. We gathered at Doolittle Hall for joint briefings and stayed at Doolittle for most of the rest of the day in our separate meetings.

The first briefing came from USAFA senior leadership--Supt, Comm, Dean, Athletics, et al. Lt Gen Silveria, Supt, opened the briefing with remarks on a number of topics before going to the panel. He told us that 62% of the cadets in the class of 2023 have parents who did not serve in the military. That makes it even more important for us to tell our story to them so they can share our story in their parents clubs. Parent participation is increasing by leaps and bounds each year. The Acceptance Parade this year had 4,000 in attendance... and there were only 1, 000 freshmen! There are 89 parents clubs across the country. Obviously, that means there are many places without one. We want to reach out to all of our USAFA family.

It's important that USAFA remain relevant to the USAF mission. We do real missions at USAFA and conduct real research on behalf of USAF priorities. The Supt's priorities are that USAFA produce grads who are innovative and have critical thinking skills; empower lieutenants with a  warrior ethos... operators and non-operators; ensure all are imbued with  impeccable character. These are the leaders of tomorrow in the military, government, and civilian life.

The Class of 2019 had 528 who were rated (about 65%). Of those, 31 went to Space Ops, 60 to RPAs, and 54 to Cyber. The battlefield of the future is more diverse than we are accustomed. There were 2 Rhodes Scholars and 110 went on to Graduate Schools. It was also the 2nd most successful year for the athletic programs at all levels.

The Class of 2023 had 1175 who marched from Jack's Valley to join the cadet wing for the academic year.

Some rumor control:

Leadership changes: BGen Goodwin, former Commandant, was let go as she under investigation by the Secretary of the USAF. Supt asks that we respect her privacy and the investigation. Let it reach a conclusion. The Vice Commandant was removed due to DUI. In some things, there is a no-tolerance policy. The greater the responsibility, the greater the accountability. BGen Armacost (Dean) is retiring after six years on the job. The new dean is awaiting confirmation in the US Senate. There is a new 10 AB/CC as of two months ago. As the Academy is going through some serious construction projects it's good to have a CE guy at the helm of the base. There is a new Athletics Director... and the old one is staying on in a different role. This one is a little confusing. There are new CCMSgts for Supt and Comm. The faculty now has its first enlisted members... it's about academics, not rank.

Projects:

CCTV has been added to many buildings including the dorms, Fairchild, and Harmon. Some cadets complain that this is intrusive but it is for their protection in the common areas. They are not in private areas.

There are some uniform changes. They are in the process of transitioning from ADUs to OCPs. They will make the switch as a unit once every cadet has the new uniform.

Construction: New building for Cyber works. It will be located on the south side of the parade grounds. This will be used for cyber education and solving real-world problems. There will be a new visitor center near the North Gate. No taxpayer funds are involved in this project. It has been funded strictly by donation. It will be a world-class facility to tell the Academy story. The Chapel is days from starting its rebuild. There are nine faith groups being displaced for the next four years during the construction. It has leaked from the very beginning but they finally have the ability to take it down to a skeleton and rebuild it correctly. They are preparing for a full renovation of Sijan Hall. It will be done in phases from one end of the building to the other because there is only so much they can do to shift cadet accommodations.

The IT infrastructure is getting a significant upgrade. They will be joining the fiber network that runs along I-25. This will greatly increase bandwidth and connect them with at least 20 other institutions of higher learning. Cadets can now bring their own devices; computers, iPads, et al. Obviously, there are risks with outside computers so they may be limited in what they can do compared to the issued computers. It's important to understand that the Academy is connected to the military networks as well as academic. In everything they do. they have to be careful about opening up soft points for exploitation. There is a new scheduling software used by many other institutions. It will allow them more flexibility than the traditional M-T day schedule. They will evaluate what works best for the mission of the Academy before making changes.

There is a focus on societal issues. Cadets come from all across the country and come with the baggage of the modern culture. Over 60% of high school students admit to cheating during their high school career and over 40% of young women have experienced some type of unwanted sexual advances. We can't expect the cadets to be different from the society from which they come... but we can train them in the USAF ethos. There is increasing gender and racial diversity. It's important to respect differing backgrounds while also building cadets to be model USAF officers.

The Aviation Next program at the Airfield is getting ready to kick off added powered training that will get cadets IFT ratings. If successful, rated graduates will be able to skip Pueblo on their way to pilot training.

There was a discussion of retention. Generally, retention rates follow the economy. Retention is low when the economy is strong the private sector beckons. Retention tends to be high when the economy is struggling. There is a discussion going on in Congress now to ensure we're getting our money's worth from graduates with enough of a commitment to service. Lt Gen Silveria  points out that the Academies aren't just training military leaders but people to lead our nation in all walks of life. We shouldn't have to worry about their length of service since they are going to go on and lead in other areas. If we have taught them to serve, they will serve.

USAFA is preparing to launch and operate its third satellite. There are many nations without a single satellite let alone three! It's a testament to the relevant curriculum to meet real world challenges. One parent asked whether cadets involved in satellite missions aren't, in fact, already operators. No. They are still in a learning environment.

We learned about the Rando Fund. It's named for C1C Dennis P. Rando of East Bridgewater, MA. This is the 23rd anniversary of his death. In 1996, C1C Rando and IP Capt Clay Smith lost their lives in a flight training accident... they weren't alone, either, as there were similar accidents before and after. Many cadets wanted to go his funeral. There is no taxpayer funding for such a thing. Cadets took up a collection to send a delegation. This identified a significant need and the fund was born. Funds collected since have gone to sending six cadets to the funeral of a fallen cadet. Since the beginning, the mission has expanded beyond just funerals of cadets. It includes helping cadets get home for family emergencies when the family doesn't have the resources. Many parents clubs hold fundraisers for this fund each year. Most years, the Fund supports 15-20 cadets at a cost of $10-20,000. They have about $160,000 currently in the bank. They are trying to build an endowment that will fund their mission with interest rather than principle. For more information on the Rando Fund, go to www.randofund.org.

Did you know you can take a virtual tour of USAFA? Just go to www.usafa.edu and launch the tour. This is a good introduction for those considering attendance.

We had a very engaging presentation by Rita Murray, PhD. She has a history of analyzing generations and their interaction. She explained that some friction between generations has to do with technology and when in our lives it made a big impact--typically age 10 -20. Current generations like Millenials and Gen Z have been so inundated with technology that they can become addicted. One chapter president relayed a story where a cadet was told to surrender her iPhone upon arrival and she refused to the point of departure. Technology helps us be more productive when used well but it can be very disruptive, too. Within the Millenial generation, there is a rift between early and later Millenials. Older Millenials can have some of the same issues prior generations have with younger Millenials and Gen Z due to the speed of technological advancement within the generation. The point of the discussion was helping us to understand that there is cultural gulf between generations and we have to take that into account when working with fellow grads as well as designing programs for our chapters.

Greg Shuey of the Kansas City chapter gave a presentation on a couple of his programs. He has set up an annual airshow for a few years! I'm not sure how repeatable that is in the Raleigh area but there was one program in particular that intrigued me... an annual Memorial Day event. Programs focused on veterans are a great way to give back to the community and our senior brothers and sisters in arms. I'm going to look deeper into this and will share more when I know more.

Much of the afternoon was spent in working groups to discuss amending the Chapter Handbook. The AOG will take our suggestions, compile them, and continue the discussion for the next number of months. Here are some of the high points of our discussion:

1. It's important to begin with the "why" when forming an AOG chapter. What is the purpose of this group? Is it social? Is it meant to do service projects? It's good to start with a purpose in mind.
2. Each year we are supposed to celebrate Founders Day (the founding of USAFA). The current Handbook requires it to take place within 60 days of April 1st. This is a busy time of year with proms, award ceremonies, and graduation preparations. If every chapter (close to 50) is holding Founders Day celebrations in the same window of time, it limits the availability of speakers from USAFA, especially as we try to deconflict with local events. We recommended removing the specific window of time and simply encourage us to celebrate the Academy sometime during the fiscal year. This will give us a greater availability of speakers and local flexibility.
3. Currently the Handbook requires us to track who is a member of the AOG in local chapters. As we are going to an "all grads" service model, this no longer makes sense. We recommend instead tracking the chapter's outreach to five constituencies: grads, cadets, parents and families, ALOs, and the local community. We should embody "Service Before Self."
4. It was suggested that the AOG could have more flexibility in the structure of a chapter. As it stands, we are supposed to have a full complement of officers; president, VP, treasurer, secretary, webmaster, et al. Local requirements make some of this unrealistic. The Handbook should lay out a basic structure but provide flexibility. Along the lines of chapter formation and guidance, it would be good to have a step-by-step guide to setting up the corporate structure and tax-status. There could be example forms for filing 501c3 or 501c19 status.
5. The annual Presidents Conference is important for disseminating information to the chapters. The cost to travel can be an impediment. We recommended the AOG provide $500 for travel expenses for an attendee from each chapter each year.
6. There are many "inactive" chapters. It would be good to describe what makes an "active" chapter. In our minds, the minimum should be celebrating Founders Day and attending the Presidents Conference each year. Distinguished chapters go above and beyond. Perhaps to be "distinguished" we should go beyond simple point-accrual and actually develop things that are truly distinguishing about each chapter. It should be a simple answer as to why a chapter is distinguished beyond just points.
7. We should encourage new chapters anywhere we have pockets of graduates. In order to encourage formation, we could provide them a chapter flag and assign a mentor chapter to help them in the early stages.

Following these discussions, we adjourned to the Eisenhower Golf Course Club for the annual awards banquet. I am happy to report that the AFA Society of NC was recognized once again as a distinguished chapter.