2026 CLUB UPCOMING EVENTS

(Invite & Reminders Shared Via Email)

Winter:

Sunday, March 8 (12:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

Parent Social at Magerks Pub & Grill (https://www.magerkspub.com/fort-
washington), Fort Washington, PA

Spring:

Sunday, May 3 @ Noon
Senior Parent Brunch - Rising Sun Inn, Telford, PA

Sunday, May 17 @ 7 PM
Virtual Appointee and Parent Info Call with Cadet and Parent Presenters

Sunday, June 7 @ Noon
Appointee Family Picnic for Eastern PA Appointees & Families – Yardley VFW (https://www.facebook.com/vfwpost6393/)

Summer:

Sunday, July 12 @ 7 PM
Virtual Parent BCT Meeting

Parents Weekend:
Friday, Sept. 5
Table at Parents Fair in Arnold Hall

Saturday, Sept. 6
Tailgate Before Game

Saturday, Sept. 6
Football Ticket Block

Fall/Winter:

Saturday, November 7
Army vs. AF Football @ West Point –Ticket Block

Monday, Dec. 28 
Delaware Valley All Service Academies Ball
(https://www.delawarevalleyallserviceacademiesball.com/)

 
* Please let us know (reply to the SEPA email address) if your soon to be grad or cadet will be home on June 1 and can lead appointee discussion groups at the picnic.

​Senior Send-Off Luncheon:
Each Spring for
​Senior Parents

This is a wonderful annual tradition for our USAFA families. 

Welcome Appointee
Picnic ​Each Spring ​

Our annual picnic for new appointees and their families is a wonderful way to get to know each other and ask questions prior to appointees leaving for Basic Training (BCT).

UPCOMING USAFA EVENTS

Job Drop:
C1C's are usually assigned jobs
​in September. Bases are usually assigned by February each year.

Sometime between September and December, firsties will find out their AFSC (Air Force Service Code)! Months earlier, they submit their top 3 rated jobs (pilot being the most requested) and top 3 non-rated jobs (intel is the most requested). The traditional Job Drop occurs in each squadron and usually includes games, scavenger hunts or other activities to reveal the AFSCs.
*Commissioning Codes*

100s Night for Seniors:
Each ​February

100s night for the first-degree (senior) cadets takes place approximately 100 nights before graduation. It is an opportunity for the class to join with the Legacy Class over a formal dinner and celebrate 100 days to graduation and commissioning as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. Cadets are given liberty for the weekend to celebrate, while fourth-degree (freshman) cadets “decorate” their rooms in a festive manner.

Annual Recognition:
​Each Spring

Recognition is evolving as an annual tradition for all classes. The following information may not be current as 2024 changes are underway:
​Recognition is the formal three-day finale of the fourth-class (freshman) year when cadets are “recognized” as upper-class cadets and allowed to wear the Prop and Wings insignia on their flight caps. It is a ceremonial acknowledgment that the fourth-class has successfully met military training requirements and is prepared to continue the rigorous and rewarding Academy journey. Recognition consists of several activities including a leadership course, an assault course and “The Run to the Rock.” In addition to challenging the fourth-class cadets, recognition provides the three upper classes with an opportunity to develop their leadership skills. Individual squadron ceremonies and a wing-wide celebratory evening meal mark the end of Recognition. 
Click here for more info

Spring Fountain Jumps

Our seniors make a big splash when they jump into the Air Garden fountains to celebrate the completion of their final exams. Cadets typically wear their flight suits or Operational Camouflage Pattern uniforms and their class baseball cap. They can also incorporate inflatables into their jump for added fun. The tradition is allowed only to seniors who have completed their last test as a cadet and is believed to date back to the first class of graduates who took the plunge in the spring of 1959. In the past, the Sup would even jump in with some of the Cadets!

Annual Ring Dance

This formal ball is exclusively for two-degree (junior) cadets. It is held during Graduation Week, before the second-class cadets become first-class cadets, and is where they receive their class rings and unveil the class crest. The rings are traditionally placed in a glass of champagne and are caught in the teeth following a toast.  Academy rings are unique because they are made with white gold, instead of the yellow gold used at other service academies. Designed by each class, one side of the ring bears the Academy crest, while the other side bears the class crest, which always includes elements from the Class of 1959’s crest: the class number, the class year, the Polaris star and the eagle.

Class of 2026 Graduation Week
May 26th - May 28, 2025

Graduation Week is comprised of many activities and events across the Academy. Cadets and their guests take part in receptions, award ceremonies, baccalaureate services, concerts, parades, air demonstrations, and commissioning ceremonies. The week culminates at Falcon Stadium with the Graduation Ceremony. Speakers rotate between the President of the United States, Vice President, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Air Force. At the close of the ceremony, cadets are dismissed and ceremoniously toss their caps into the air. Cheers and celebration are quickly silenced by the roar of the legendary Thunderbirds flying overhead to honor the graduating class.
Grad week traditions link here.

Junior Year Commitment Dinner
Each August

Commitment Dinner is usually held the day before classes start. Once the cadets return to the Academy for their second-class year, they incur the financial or active duty “commitment” for their education if they depart the Academy prior to graduation This profound commitment to the Air Force or Space Force is celebrated with a formal dinner. This event is for Cadets only. 
​​

Incoming Freshman
​ Acceptance Day
Each August

The end of Basic Cadet Training (BCT) is marked by the Acceptance Parade. During this event, cadets receive their fourth-class shoulder boards to recognize completing BCT and to signify their acceptance into the Cadet Wing. In a ceremony associated with the parade, new fourth-class cadets take the Academy Honor Code Oath and pledge to live by its principles. This parade is open to the public.

Parents Weekend, SEPA Parent Group Tailgate & USAFA Opening Football Game
Labor Day Weekend

 Great way for families to meet up when out for Parent's Weekend at USAFA. We will meet for a casual tailgate and sit together for the game.