Part 1 of a sampling from the over 600 comments we received on the petition form:
“3 adult, white male boys. It’s sad that I am not even excited to recommend the USAFA to them. When this institution gets back to high standards, removes woke ideology and political correctness, I’ll start supporting again. I wish you gentlemen the best.” 2003
“Absolutely concur. Your (mailed) correspondence was the first USAFA related literature that has ever even paralleled my perspective. Vipers 20 years. About to hit 30 total service. USAFA has been going in the wrong direction for quite some time. Trite contemporary platitudes. 1995
“Bravo! When I first heard about the woke agenda permeating the AF and USAFA, my first reaction was, “This is going to get a lot of young people killed.” Why? Because they would, one day soon, have to go up against fierce, dedicated warriors not encumbered by political correctness. Not to mention the fact that their leaders got to be leaders by being politically correct.” 1973
“As a grad from the “dark ages” [8th class], it’s hard for me to recognize what has transpired recently at USAFA. These proposed changes are good first steps toward help reversing what’s happened to my Alma Mater.” 1966
“From afar, all I see is a now corrupted, woke, dysfunctional “college”— and the Academy I attended is seemingly from another time and place. It saddens me. I’m blessed with three wonderful children—two of whom are college age; I did not recommend my alma mater to either of them. Perhaps by the time my youngest is ready, something can be salvaged. Thank you for your efforts.” 1995
“After hearing what has transpired over the past 20 years at USAFA, I am now ashamed to call myself a graduate. If back in the early 70’s any USAFA leader were to espouse the kind of rhetoric that has become common at USAFA over the past 20 years, it is certain they would have been court martialed and drummed out of the Air Force.” 1976
“Culture change is one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. Thank you for standing up taking the first step, good luck. There are more graduates that have your back than you can imagine.” 2003
“Agree strongly that USAFA has lost its way and that woke political correctness and DEI distractions have replaced combat readiness as the sole objective of the Academy and the Air Force. So ashamed of this nonsense that I refused to attend the 50th reunion and have broken all ties with the AOG. If these amendments can help us turn the corner and return to our original and intended purpose, I am very much in favor. We fought long and hard vs Marxism and now it seems like leadership is caving to the dark side.” 1973
“DON’T GO WOKE! This ideology must be eliminated from our entire culture, but ESPECIALLY our military academies! Send whoever thinks this is a good idea back to Ethics class to figure out this ENTIRE ideology is so full of logical fallacies that they should be FIRED for mandating this woke trash. Any graduate of our fine Academy should be equipped to FIGHT THIS information warfare!” 2009
“Any inclusion of politically correct social engineering programs, or any politically charged ideological constructs, is divisive, demeaning, and directly contrary to the ideals and purpose of the United States Air Force Academy. The institution exists to create the next generation of leaders, warriors, and defenders of the Constitution and its rights. The cadet experience CANNOT be about equity, inclusion or prioritization of special interest groups regardless of ability or effort! It MUST be about equality of opportunity and advancement based upon merit, sacrifice, and professionalism! An Air Force officer’s conduct must be apolitical, not politically correct. Political correctness, “wokeness” will change with the tides. The ideals of the Academy must stand inviolate against these changing tides.” 1968
“Due to USAF Academy policies and actions over the past several years, I have, until now, ceased any and all communication with the AOG. This action gives me some hope to re-establish communication in the future.” 1977
“Couldn’t agree more with your proposal. I think the place has truly lost its way and maybe the higher ups will pay attention. Sadly, I’m not optimistic. Know that I mentored a highly qualified candidate who was put on the “wait list” even after gaining his congressman’s appointment. Finally figured out the problem…wrong color and wrong sex. Too bad because the Academy missed on an extremely qualified young man who wanted to fly. He took a full ride Air Force ROTC scholarship to a major university and will eventually be a fine asset to the AF. This DEI stuff has eroded the warrior mentality and needs to stop. Meritocracy is paramount to an effective force. My father, myself, my son plus father-in-law all spent a career in the AF and we achieved our rank through that feature. Over 100 years of combined service and DEI tarnishes all of it.” 1968
“Don’t allow the USAFA or AOG to go WOKE!!!” 2002
“Finally something I can support concerning my alma mater. Thank you for this much needed effort to return USAFA to an institution dedicated to producing line, combat officers.” 1978
“Great proposal. Too often the voices of us grads have fallen upon deaf ears. There is definitely a need for some changes to occur at our Academy. We cannot let the degradation of our core values to continue to decline. We must preserve our Constitutional rights – especially our Freedom of Speech which seems to be overlooked and overruled these days. Thank you for doing this and standing for our freedoms!” 1984
“Enthusiastically support any effort that restores merit to the Academy mission and resists the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion nonsense that infects all levels of the current USAF General Officer corps.” 1976
“Eliminate the DEI Marxist political ideologies, propaganda, and policies that are fundamentally anti-American. Stop the social engineering policies that have nothing to do with making the Air Force more lethal and effective at defending America. Focusing on diversity fosters division. We should focus on what unites us as Americans, not what makes us different. Unity will win wars. Educate cadets about why America has been great and unique in history and reasons worth fighting to defend.” 2003
“First of all, thank you for your efforts in bringing our voices to the Board and re-establishing the national reputation and respect that our institution deserves. I have been so incredibly disappointed in the Air Force Academy over the last number of years in its decision to promote social engineering and force political ideology on cadets and young officers. The core tenets of the Academy — Integrity, Service and Excellence — need to be re-emphasized to develop a fighting force for our nation, based on merit and excellence. It’s disgraceful that the Academy has fallen away from these values because of a political narrative that is being forced on our future leaders. Almost every time someone realizes that I went to the Academy, I get asked to explain and defend why the Academy is making politically motivated decisions that make our nation less safe and our leaders less effective. This is not acceptable. I am disappointed and saddened that my son will not be applying to the Academy next year because of these political and social experiments. I hope that with your leadership that at least our voices can be heard.” 2002
“Great work. Let’s do this!” 1985
“Glad to support. I am disheartened by the AFA’s focus on non-merit based principles and suspended all financial assistance to the AOG in 2022 after learning the cadet orientation training included recommendations like avoiding terms like “mom” and “dad”. I felt like I had no voice in the matter and the AOG was not effectively representing my concerns.” 1996
“I 100% support this initiative. Bring back the days of meritocracy!” 2004
“First thanks for opportunity to voice my support on the above amendment. I have been concerned for many years about political ideology seeping into the USAFA curriculum, the erosion of standards and a move away from merit-based decisions on Academy appointments/advancement. I believe integrity, academic/athletic excellence, character development and respect for the US Constitution should be the focus of the Academy and the AOG and are generally agnostic of politics. I believe the proposed amendment aligns with the views I’ve expressed.” 1989
“Good luck with this effort. Frankly, the Academy has become a source of embarrassment and disappointment and I don’t pay attention to it anymore except for advising my friends children not to go there. If this is a legitimate effort to refocus on training effective combat leaders for the Air Force, I would consider assisting you if you have the need for such a thing. If what you’re pushing is just a different form of PC and identify politics, I suppose that will become clear soon enough.” 1982
“How could our AOG lose its way like so many other organizations in the last few years? It was supposed to be a moral compass, a conscience for our Academy. Thank you to this group for organizing and taking action. I will be emailing about pitching in.” 2001
“I 100% agree with the proposed changes. DEI is killing USAFA as it already has many other organizations. I plan to continue to vote in AOG business to prevent them from dismantling the traditions and culture of USAFA. Keep up the good work!” 2011
“I agree that the AOG and members of the graduate community can and must get more involved to ensure meritocracy is the foundation of the Academy. USAFA is not a college or university; it is an Academy…it is designed to develop career officers of character to lead our AF. It has gotten very far away from this and must be remedied…only through meritocracy is equality fully achieved.” 1980