I've heard that often times Academy graduates are the sloppiest looking LTs on the block. They never iron their uniforms, shine their shoes, or shave. In my mind this argument has some credibility because the institution uses uniforms as a punishment. They make a feeble attempt to instill pride in the uniform by forcing us to memorize quotes, not put uniforms on the ground, and perform regular inspections. Unlike our ROTC counterparts, we have to wear the uniform every day for the entire Academy experience. It is never solely Air Force dress-up Thursday, but rather a constant barrage of uniform wear. Up until Recognition Doolies are required to wear the uniform 24 hours a day. It becomes a privilege to take off the uniform, but in reality it should be a privilege to put the uniform on. A common training technique for Doolies are making them do Superman drills. This is when they have to change uniforms about five times in a row in a certain amount of time; which is an event they dread. We force them to funnel through all different types of uniforms and them grade them harshly.
USAFA also has no problem using uniforms as a punishment. Commanders will tack on constant uniform wear as part of probationary restrictions. If you have to serve confinements, you have to wear one of the most formal uniform combinations. By the time graduation comes around, most cadets view the uniform in a negative light and don't put in the extra effort to make it look nice.
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Your post is quite interesting in light of my brother's personality and my interpersonal difficulties with him (he's a retired LTC and former USAFA instructor). Some cadets referred to him as "Hardass [surname]." His anal-retentiveness manifested iteself among other things with enforcing uniform regs, which if I recall correctly engendered a complaint from a cadet's parent. He retired suddenly in 2008 with no clear plans for a post-retirement occupation. That is totally unlike him; he's so compulsively organized that he'd plan bathroom stops in advance on a road trip. Not only that, he saw what happened when I bailed out of a lucrative career I didn't like, but without a safety net or clear plan. (Not pretty.) I can, however, imagine USAFA superiors being allowed to retire in order to avoid punitive action or even courts-martial. Sounds consistent with what I've read about the dark side of the Academy. Ever hear of such a thing? If you e-mail me, be sure to include USAFA or Air Force in the subject header so I can recognize it as legit.
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