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Basic Cadet Training: The breakdown for the AF Academy’s Class of ‘23

Story by Ray Bowden, June 25, 2019

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The Air Force Academy’s Class of 2023 reports for basic training June 27, bringing with it a near-20 percent uptick in the number of cadets with the potential to become pilots.

According to the Admissions Office at the school, 727 new cadets – 63.4 percent of the class – are qualified to become pilots, a very noticeable rise from last year’s number of 520 – 44.4 percent of the Class of 2022.

In all, 1,147 young men and women are slated to report for Basic Cadet Training. That’s 323 women and 824 men, so the Class of 2023 looks to be 28.2 percent women and 71.8 percent men.

— Last year, 1,170 trainees were accepted into the Class of 2022. That’s 295 women representing 25.2 percent and 875 men comprising 74.8 percent of the student body.

This Year-Last Year Comparison

One-Hundred-twenty new trainees identify as Hispanic and 1,007 do not.

— Last year, 119 identified as Hispanic and 1,051 did not.

Three-hundred-sixty-seven trainees are minorities. One-hundred-nineteen are African-American; six are Native American; 105 are Asian; and 17 are Pacific Islanders. Twenty new trainees did not confirm their ethnic identity.

–Last year, 397 basic trainees identified as minorities; 133 identified as African-American; 15 identified as Native American; 111 identified as Asian; 19 identified as Pacific Islander; and 58 did not confirm their ethnic identity. 

Seven-hundred-twenty-seven are medically qualified to become pilots; 389 are medically qualified to become navigators; and 31 have undetermined status regarding their specific career qualifications.

— Last year, 520 were medically qualified to become pilots; 136 were medically qualified to become navigators, and 513 were medically qualified to receive a commission other than in the pilot or navigator specialties.  

Two-hundred-eighty-six basic trainees are recruited athletes.

Along with English and Spanish, the Class of 2023 includes trainees who speak Akan, American Sign Language, Czech, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

One-hundred-seventy-seven are first in their families to attend a college.

— Last year, 170 were the first in their families to attend a college.

One-hundred-forty-four are children of single-parent families.

— Last year, 138 were the children of single-parent families.

Sixty-six were formerly enlisted service members.

— Last year, 59 were formerly enlisted service members.  

Eighty-eight are children of at least one parent who graduated from a U.S. service academy. Sixty-five are children of a parent who graduated from the Air Force Academy; three are children of a parent who graduated from the Naval Academy; 17 are children of a parent who graduated the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; one is the child of a parent who graduated from the Coast Guard Academy; and two are children of a parent who graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy.

— Last year, 114 were children of U.S. service academy graduates. Seventy-nine were children of Air Force Academy graduates; 15 were children of West Point graduates; 16 were children of Naval Academy graduates; and four were children of Coast Guard Academy graduates.