<p>I was wondering what the USMA's stance was on religious missions. I know that the USAFA and the USNA let cadets/midshipmen go on missions after 2 yrs of school and then reapply, with most everyone being accepted back granted they leave in good standing. Up until recently I was heavily geared towards going to the USAFA but after going on a recent recruiting trip to the USMA, I'm also very interested in what the USMA has to offer. Does anyone know anyone at the USMA that has gone on a religious mission such as a Mormon? Since religion is really important to me, I may have to end up going to the USAFA if West Point doesn't allow such things.</p>
<p>West Point does allow for religious missions. If I recall correctly, you do your plebe and yuk year, go on your mission, and then come back. Father Edson Wood, the USMA chaplain,may be able to provide more information. Google him and you'll probably find his e-mail and such.</p>
<p>My son's roommate last year is LDS and he has an older brother at West Point too who's just come back from a mission. There's no problem going on missions and, as far as I know, there's no "reapplication" process. I'm sure you have to document what you've done and make sure you don't get arrested while you're away. So, no excuse to lower your standards and go to USAFA.</p>
<p>USAFA2011, the USAFA still permits LDS cadets to leave for missions after the first OR second year. They do have to resign and then reapply. I recently spoke with the father of an LDS USAFA cadet, class of 2009. He left for his mission after the first year at the USAFA because (as his father put it) "He said he needed a break." He's eager to get back, and because he's serving his mission in Germany he'll be more valuable to the USAF because of his newly well-honed foreign language skills. For what it's worth, the USAFA also has the greatest number of LDS cadets of all the academies, about three percent of each class. </p>
<p>I haven't heard if the policies are different at West Point, but I doubt that they are. Judging from the other posts here, they're not.</p>
<p>(My son would have seriously considered West Point because of its sterling reputation and matchless tradition, but he really wants to fly jet aircraft.)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the posts guys, this really helps. I'm going to have a really hard descision to make since I really want tofly planes but I really loved the atmosphere of West Point.</p>
<p>usafa2011 - you know there are aviation opportunities at WP. My son, a yearling, has signed up to learn to fly helicopters this coming summer.</p>
<p>Yes, I know you can fly helicopters at West Point. Some major ones being the Blackhawk, Apache, and Chinook. But I've always wanted to fly planes. Never really got interested in helicopters.</p>