Arrival

As soon as you arrive, you’ll realize that the Air Force Academy isn’t your typical college or university – it’s a military institution and the demands are unique.

• You’ll shed civilian clothes for a military uniform and your hair will be cut to Academy standards.
• You may not use tobacco products during Basic Cadet Training (BCT), so if you smoke, dip or chew, you should quit before arriving so you can adapt more easily.
• The first day of BCT will be a long one – full of new sights, sounds, situations and experiences. It will be etched in your memory forever.

Oath

Shortly after you arrive, you’ll participate in one of the more solemn occasions of your cadet career – taking the oath that makes you a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. This is the pledge of loyalty:

I, (name), having been appointed an Air Force cadet in the United States Air Force, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Consider what this country means to you and what defending it involves. You must serve wholeheartedly. If you have any reservations, resolve them before you commit.