March 18th to April 26th, 2002
The Academy of Military Science is the primary source of commissioning for future officers in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. It is located at McGhee Tyson ANGB in Knoxville, Tennessee.
AMS is a challenging six-week course that teaches its participants about leadership, both through academics and participation. Though much of your time is spent in a classroom, academics is far from all you will be tasked with while in attendance. There are student leadership positions that change weekly, dormitory maintenance (inspection-ready quarters), and lots of extras that those of you that went through basic training got to "enjoy."
You will invariably hear ten different opinions from ten different people if you ask what it was like, but I'll give you my opinion anyway. Having been prior enlisted, I had the "pleasure" of visiting Lackland AFB for basic training. I disliked it while I was there, and still can't come up with a lot of positive things to say about it. I would rate AMS as more difficult, but for different reasons. In basic, you are spoon-fed a monotonous routine and have instructions for every second you are there. At AMS, much is left to the imagination, though you are tasked with far more. The rules are left to you to invent, but the repercussions are ever-present if your tasks are not completed. You have plenty to do, and very little time to do it. Sleep was hard to come by, averaging five hours per night. This quickly added to the stress of a difficult situation.
Despite the negative, the reasons for their processes become clear either during or following the program. Much of what they are teaching is readily apparent in everyday life. By setting the standards very high, they prepare you for just about anything. It certainly was not all bad, and you will find time to enjoy yourself on occasion. I am proud to have completed it.
If you have specific questions, please contact me at scot_wilcox@hotmail.com.
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