Cadets get job assignments

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Senior Air Force Academy cadets got an early holiday present this month when they found out which Air Force jobs they will perform after graduation.

Fifty-three percent of the senior class -- 530 of 988 -- are bound for undergraduate pilot training. Another 34 cadets will be navigators and seven more will take to the sky as air-battle managers.

Almost 9 percent of the seniors will enter the Air Force’s research community -- 55 as developmental engineers and 31 as scientific analysts. Another 34 will become civil engineers who handle base-level engineering efforts, and 24 are bound for medical school.

These are the jobs some have been dreaming about and working toward their entire lives. Cadet 1st Class Susan Rietze will be a scientific analyst.

“I do not want to fly, but I do want to use the education from the academy in a purposeful way,” she said. “I feel that helping the Air Force make educated decisions is very important and good analysis will lead to better capabilities and more advanced technology in the future.”

Cadet 1st Class Robert Brady is ecstatic about going into aerospace engineering.

“I’d like to do developmental work,” he said. “I feel excited because I will be able to work on a lot of cool projects I’ve read about. My mom thinks the job is a perfect fit for me, but my dad wanted me to be a pilot. But I think he’s over it.”

More than 90 percent of the cadets got their first or second job choice. The job-selection process is based on four criteria: needs of the Air Force, cadet qualifications, cadet preferences and the board rankings.

“We make every attempt to match cadet preferences, but we are also charged with meeting the needs of the Air Force and awarding critical and highly sought-after jobs to the most deserving cadets based on their overall performance at the Air Force Academy,” said Col. Gary Smith, academy director of personnel.

Other Air Force jobs which the senior cadets received are: communications-computers, 60; space and missile operations, 37; scientific analyst, 31; intelligence, 30; acquisitions, 30; aircraft/munitions maintenance, 21; contracting, 14; financial management, 11; logistics/supply/transportation, 10; security forces, nine; special investigations, seven; air-traffic control, five; weather, five; space/missile maintenance, five; personnel, four; cost analysis, four; combat control, four; manpower, three; and services, three.

Cadets finish up a week of final exams Dec. 19 and are on holiday break until Jan. 6.