By Three Members of USAFA Class of 2026
Introduction
The current state of the United States Air Force Academy is far from its original glory.
For the current senior class (Class of 2026) who witnessed the old traditions, hard training, and a freshman year that molded them into tougher men and women through stress and discomfort, it is disheartening to see how the academy has changed for the worse.
Current leadership has stripped away meaningful training, our heritage, and the Academy’s soul, leaving us with nothing in return but a failing institution.
The effects are most clearly seen in current freshmen and sophomores who cannot operate under stress without breaking down, have no connection to the heritage of the Academy, and all around do not grasp the importance of their four-degree year at the academy.
Leadership has failed them in many ways, as they refuse to take risks and refuse to recognize the Academy’s decline.
The Academy is supposed to train cadets for war, but instead now teaches us to avoid uncomfortable situations, hard training, and to treat our experience here without regard for the pain and suffering that could accompany officers as they bear the nation’s sword.
In this paper, we (members of the Class of 2026) will discuss personal experiences from cadets, examples from graduates who endured the worst of humanity, and how the Academy should pivot back to how it used to be in alignment with Secretary of War Hegseth’s vision.
My Personal Experience
Many years ago, as a 7th grader, I took my first admissions visit to the United States Air Force Academy with my brother and father. After witnessing the pure culture, atmosphere, and military lifestyle, my brother and I were sold. Together, we set our minds unequivocally on attending the “prestigious” institution.
My brother was accepted into USAFA during my junior year of high school, which only fueled my own determination to follow in his footsteps.
During my senior year, he told me all about his freshman experience, both the fun and the hardships. He described the demanding nature of the fourth-class system and the trials of freshman training.
Yet, none of it deterred me. I did not shy away by the idea of a “hard” freshman year; after all, I wanted to join the military, not just attend a regular college. Later that year, I received my own coveted appointment.
Early in my freshman year, I loved USAFA. I had finally joined the heritage that had been so special to my brother, and now, to me. Of course, I begrudgingly endured the tribulations and suck of freshman year; it is only natural to dislike unpleasant experiences. But my classmates and I endured together, finishing strong together.
After Recognition, I saw the light. I saw “the why.” I saw the change in myself. The struggles I went through unknowingly molded me into a better person. I was immensely proud of what I had overcome, and even more so of the shared experience I now had with my older brother.
As the months passed, my younger sister began expressing interest in following in our footsteps. Without hesitation, we encouraged her to consider USAFA, and I was thrilled at the thought of all three of us sharing this unique experience.
However, as the years went on, USAFA changed. New leadership came in and, piece by piece, dissolved the cherished heritage and culture that had defined our experience. The cornerstone traditions, freshman-year training, Recognition, and even the small week-to-week cadet customs were removed.
What replaced them felt hollow. In exchange for heritage and purpose, we were left with a diluted institution: one lacking identity, culture, and buy-in.
My brother graduated in 2025 with a bitter taste in his mouth, disappointed in what the Academy had become, and uncertain about where it was headed.
Towards the end of his senior year, he grew hesitant to recommend USAFA to our sister. Still, I encouraged her to accept her appointment to the Class of 2029, clinging to the hope that the Academy might return to its roots, return to developing cadets through challenge and transformation.
My hope briefly grew during my time as a Basic Cadet Training Flight Commander, but it was quickly crushed upon returning for this academic year.
Despite the pleas of the upper classes and even direct guidance from the POTUS and SECDEF regarding military training, leadership refused to budge.
For the first time, I began to question whether I had made the right decision in advising my sister to come here. Even as a freshman, she recognizes the same flaws. She wishes for the kind of formative, uncomfortable freshman year that my brother and I endured, one that tested and developed us.
And I want to do that for her too. Not out of cruelty, but because I know that hardship refines character. I want her to grow, to share the heritage that once bound cadets together, and to carry the pride of enduring something difficult for the better.
Fast forward to the present: we are no different from any other commissioning source. USAFA has become, in effect, a black hole for taxpayer dollars, bearing little resemblance to the Air Force’s “premier institution for developing Leaders of Character.”
I no longer trust the majority of underclassmen cadets with my life the way I trusted my upperclassmen.
I see rampant self-interest, a lack of discipline, and an absence of genuine military buy-in among the lower classes.
For the first time, I can no longer, in good conscience, recommend the Academy as a worthwhile institution.
Something must change. If it takes the highest levels of leadership to intervene, then so be it. We owe it to the current cadets, the future cadets, and to the American people who entrust this institution with their best and brightest.
From a History Perspective
The discussion begins with the term Doolie. When the cadet first entered the Academy, they were called a Doolie, and to be quite honest, they were proud to be one. They were doing something their peers were not, putting a ruck on their back almost every day for DDTs, which used to be the afternoon freshman training. The upperclassmen, professors, and all graduates would call freshmen Doolies.
Since the entry of the class of 2028, this term is no longer allowed, and cadets can get into serious trouble for using it.
This is interesting because when the word Plebe is searched on the internet, Merriam Webster lists the definition based on the Naval Academy, meaning someone who lacks knowledge and is a common person. Freshmen are exactly that, new to the military organization and lacking the skills of a sophomore, let alone a senior.
When the word Doolie is searched on Merriam Webster, it does not come up. The word Dooly does, which is a term used in India for a litter carried on men’s shoulders.
Cadets were told by current leadership that Doolie is an inappropriate term because it is offensive.
Interestingly, the Academy’s own website states that the Class of 1959 coined the term, derived from the Greek word for subject, and that cadets do not use this term at all. It is believed that a leap was made during the last administration, and that to cover the academy’s public image, this was the chosen solution.
Heritage was stripped away, and calling a freshman a Doolie did not hurt feelings. It distinguished freshmen from the upper three classes, which helped the upper three focus on their development.
The next point concerns a project completed for a World War Two class. The focus was on American prisoners of war in both the European and Pacific theaters, with special attention on Alexander Jefferson’s diary from the Academy’s Special Collections. He was a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft Three in Germany and wrote one of the most remarkable diaries the cadet had ever read. Its significance is made clear on the fourth page, where he writes out the entire quote of High Flight by John Magee, who was killed in the Battle of Britain.
Three years ago, cadets were required to learn and memorize this quote, and many would still know it verbatim today. The quote carries immense meaning and provides insight into the impact of being a pilot and what it means to be a true warfighter.
Freshmen today do not learn this quote. This represents a loss to heritage and to the understanding of the Profession of Arms.
Further into the diary, Jefferson’s service number appears repeatedly. Unfortunately, hardly any freshmen in the class of 2029, or even sophomores in the class of 2028, know their DOD ID or service number.
The Academy is not focusing on the important things right now. Lieutenant Jefferson knew his number and did not want to forget it while he was a prisoner.
After all, there is a reason President Eisenhower implemented the Code of Conduct. He understood the true challenges of war, yet it appears current Academy leadership does not.
Allowing underclassmen to remain unfamiliar with this information will hurt them one day. The Academy is currently failing them, and failing them means failing the upcoming classes as well.
While it may seem insignificant to not know a number, that number is the lifeline available on the worst of days. This small example is only the beginning.
Lastly, in an interview we had with USAFA Class of 1988 graduate Lt. Col (Ret) Robert Sweet, the last serving POW in the U.S. Air Force, he told us, “The first time you get yelled at should not be by the enemy.”
Lt. Col Sweet is truly an extraordinary human being, given what he went through: 19 days as a POW after being shot down during Operation Desert Storm. He also credited the tough training that he had at USAFA for helping him stay strong through his gruesome experience.
In our conversation, we discussed the unfortunate current situation at USAFA. He was beyond disappointed.
His claims were that all officers, Academy graduates in particular, should be expected to go through tough circumstances physically and mentally so that they can be prepared for the worst days of their life. Hence, the quote he provided (above).
Performance under pressure should be the focus. A focus that was best demonstrated in the hard fourth-class system of the past.
Summary
The United States Air Force Academy stands at a critical turning point.
The erosion of heritage, the removal of meaningful training, and the replacement of challenge with comfort have produced a generation of cadets who are academically talented but unprepared for the realities of military service.
The testimony of the Class of 2026, the experiences of past graduates, and the historical accounts of former prisoners of war all point to the same undeniable truth, the Academy is drifting away from its original mission.
What makes this decline even more concerning is that cadets have not remained silent. We have repeatedly communicated our concerns, our experiences, and our justified requests for the restoration of meaningful training and heritage to Academy leadership.
At every level, we have attempted to explain the consequences of the current trajectory and to offer realistic, well-grounded solutions.
Yet time after time, leadership has turned a blind eye.
Instead of engaging with our arguments or acknowledging the validity of our perspective, they provide shallow explanations and poor excuses that do nothing to address the core issues.
Their unwillingness to listen has widened the disconnect between leadership and the cadet wing and has further accelerated the deterioration of the Academy’s purpose.
The topics discussed in this paper hardly scratch the surface of the concerns and issues regarding USAFA’s current state.
If the institution is to remain the nation’s premier commissioning source, if it is to produce officers capable of surviving captivity, leading airmen in combat, and embodying the Profession of Arms, then decisive action is required.
The restoration of rigorous training, the revival of cadet heritage, and a renewed commitment to developing warfighters are not optional, they are essential.
At this point, we call upon national leadership to intervene, to correct course, and to restore the United States Air Force Academy to the institution it was intended to be.
The future officers of the United States, and the security of the nation, depend on it.
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SOURCE: Provided to STARRS Board of Advisors Member and USAFA AOG Board Director Brig. General Christopher Walker, USAF ret, USAFA ’88
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