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Air Force Academy relaxes social-distancing rules after cadet suicides
By Yaron SteinbuchApril 2, 2020 | 8:26am

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The Cadet Chapel towers over the U.S. Air Force Academy campus

The US Air Force Academy has eased coronavirus social-distancing restrictions after it reported back-to-back suicide deaths of two cadets, according to a report.

Some people complained that the rules made the Colorado Springs academy prison-like for the nearly 1,000 seniors who remain on the campus while others complete the year online, according to The Gazette, which obtained emails from the school.

“After last night and today, thank you for all the conversations and direct engagement with me and (Air Force) senior leaders,” Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the school’s superintendent, said in an email announcing the policy changes Monday night.

“I asked them to come out and talk to you and I am grateful that despite the travel restrictions, they wanted to talk to you.”

Cadets will be allowed to leave the campus for drive-thru food, get a casual Friday during which they can wear civilian clothing and may congregate in small groups while following with state guidelines.

Also rescinded are long “tours” of marching practice for cadets who don’t stay six feet away from their classmates.

“No one is being punished for social distancing violations. Be smart!” Silveria said in an email.

Alcohol, while still forbidden in dorms and vehicles, will be allowed elsewhere on the 18,500-acre campus – and the academy staff was encouraged to bring their dogs to work.

“Dogs are mission-essential and allowed any time,” the general said.

The policy changes came after the senior class remained on campus, spread out across emptied dorms, and ordered to stay separated from one another while taking online classes and eating take-out meals.

The cadets who committed suicide on March 26 and 27 were set to graduate this spring.

Future leaders...

When you set about to wussify a military academy, you get wusses.

Just wait until they find out how stressful combat is.

"Combat? I signed up to become a Diversity Officer."

One way to weed out the bad apples.

Aligns well with Trump's prediction that burdensome rules to slow the virus would result in suicides.

Having a hard time wrapping my head around this part.

Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem...what a shame...the "one Place" with the "Greatest Unused Potential of Mankind"...is the Cemetery....Not everyone is cut out to be "sheepdog"...

Not that I have any clue, but exactly what I was thinking. Unfortunate to say but probably for the best.

Class of 2020 just failed their solitary confinement final. So much for their security clearance, they will have to work transport duty.

That’s so sad & so true.

Will these be counted as covid deaths?

As a society we are not developing young people who are tough and resilient.

This should be satire. The fact it isnt, is nothing but shameful.

How does a spineless wuss like that survive four years of cadet training? That speaks volumes about the "leadership" the place has. I really don't think I'd want a ring-knocker protecting my six in a dogfight, right, Rocky? Does anybody remember the WW II-era Heisman trophy winner, Tom Harmon? He bailed out of a B-17 and left his crew to die in the crash under suspicious circumstances. He went on to fly fighter planes, mostly because nobody would fly with him in a bomber again. Dad was also a B-17 pilot, and he never had a good thing to say about Harmon when he was a sportscaster after the war.
Jerry

I have been retired from the AF longer than I served ('69 to '92) and have not flown since 1976 so I cannot make pronouncements about how things are now. And I was ROTC, not Academy. Except to say that when I was in and active, it was NOTHING like that.

Of all the Armed Services the Air Force has by far the largest number of liberal Democrats.

So this is not a big surprise to me.

Well, at the USAFA, looks like the mortality rate from this situation is very low compared to the 2% average for those contracting the actual virus. As someone said here, might as well weed out the worst wusses now.

Who knows what demons they were fighting. You or I sure don't.

Could you imagine they going through survival training...

Even cargo haulers have a SECRET clearance at minimum.

They are out there. When you meet one you can see they have the upbringing and training and desire to excel. There are just not as many as there used to be.

The service academies have largely become just another institute of higher learning. The set-asides for athletes, unqualified minorities and children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren of alums combined with the social engineering of the curriculum to now include all the same type of soft degrees of civilian universities have have conspired to make them useless for producing a higher standard of officer.

Our CIC did not do them any favors with the decision to allow their graduates to go right to professional sports instead of uniform for an obligation.

Of course there are still fine officers produced by them but in nor greater percentage than the other ROTC and OCS commissioning sources. I will say the Coast Guard Academy seems to be the exception to this slide.

Sad that so many years of tradition have been destroyed in such a short time. I think their time of usefulness is done.

Does the Coast Guard Academy have a football team?

I’m wondering what the suicide rate is per average year.

The sorta kid who pushes themself hard enough to get into a Service Academy tends to set way high expectations for themself, gonna be a few extreme personalities in that group prone to fits of despair.

OTOH I wouldn’t guess your average Affirmative Action/Diversity Cadet would fit that description.

Being the Peace Corps is the closest I got so I ain’t gonna criticize except to observe that the famous East India Company Brit Robert Clive in a fit of despair tried to shoot himself shortly after arriving in India but the pistol misfired, twice.

Sir Robert Clive went on of course to establish the British Empire in India, becoming a multimillionaire in the process.

I’m guessing at least a few of these suicides are sad losses to the military.

Good grief. They had no business there.

Lots of young people, especially guys, are tough and resilient. We just have women running a lot more things now.

Suicide is rampant in the military and it happens more in garrison than combat.

Agreed.

My son is a good kid. Mentally tough, hard charger and went from e1 to e4 in the Army in 18 months. Is EXACTLY the type of person you want serving and as an NCO. He's getting out ASAP because of how phoucked up senior leadership is, primarily female but across the board - it's not great.

My time in the military and corporate world - too often the very best get into a place, realize it's fubar beyond what they're willing to do or able to do and they cut tape and bail.

Not ALL obviously but way too many. It's how you end up with the mess to begin with. Peter principle drives out the good ones.

And a Medal of Honor recipient for being needlessly stupid and because they didn't have one, and everyone else did. My opinion.

The post-deployment garrison environment, especially if it is a command that has a low amount of combat vets, is a very stressful situation for many combat vets. Combine it with coming home from overseas and reintegration with family and it's an environment that can isolate people and make them vulnerable to depression.

The Navy has dealt with it pretty well IMO simply because we always deployed for 6+ months and had the mechanisms to deal with it. The other services the last 15 years have been playing catch up to that deployed and returned environment and are getting better. Even worse for the Guard/Reserves.

During the cold war and post-cold war the USAF and USA really didn't do deployments. Garrison was their life for most except for short term dets/training. That's all changed now.

My recent college grad. nephew is a Junior Grade Officer in the Military, he is mentally tough and in much better shape physically than the Army requires him to be. He was just down here for a few weeks training. While we were riding in his car he took a call from one of his peers, a female who apparently has the hots for him. It sounded like he was talking to a sorority girl discussing their upcoming deployment

Spot on.
You pick in up what I'm lain down ..

Guess they need to serve where they have no risk of capture...
Hmm

I joined the Army in June, 1973. I had a lot of guys who were just back from Viet Nam absolutely hate Garrison duty. Too many rules and not enough common sense jobs and programs. Many bailed out at their first opportunity. Good men who had been tested by battle and the REMF poags drove them out.

kwg

My Daughter has a good friend in that class.

And no he wasn't one that offed themselves.

Great youngman maybe gonna make a great pilot. Maybe even a SIL? 🤪😜😁

Just completed his jump certs yesterday for graduation.

I actually remember what You are talking about but most don't
Thanks for Your post.

Correct - we do not know which, if any, demons were being experienced by those who committed suicide there. Given info from the article above (as shown below), it certainly looks as though their living conditions and that "environment" are not demonic - particularly as compared with what many, many people are experiencing these days. So - if they were inhabited by demons that caused their suicidal actions, those same self-destructive demons would seem to have predicted failure in important military service.

Cadets will be allowed to leave the campus for drive-thru food, get a casual Friday during which they can wear civilian clothing and may congregate in small groups while following with state guidelines.
Also rescinded are long “tours” of marching practice for cadets who don’t stay six feet away from their classmates.
“No one is being punished for social distancing violations. Be smart!” Silveria said in an email.
Alcohol, while still forbidden in dorms and vehicles, will be allowed elsewhere on the 18,500-acre campus – and the academy staff was encouraged to bring their dogs to work.
“Dogs are mission-essential and allowed any time,” the general said.
The policy changes came after the senior class remained on campus, spread out across emptied dorms, and ordered to stay separated from one another while taking online classes and eating take-out meals.
The cadets who committed suicide on March 26 and 27 were set to graduate this spring.

What else can we expect of twenty plus years of pussification? i have zero sympathry..

Only by democraps.

This is shocking even though this is the path we've been on for decades. The suicides must have been gay. When we gut the military we open up the entire country to be gutted. I'm sad I brought three great kids into the world to this! All of it!!!

Couldn't agree more.................

Too much gun-ho sports not enough emphasis on the "right stuff"