Choosing a major

 I entered the Air Force Academy with the vague idea that I would major in Civil Engineering. Building things like roads, bridges, buildings, dams, water systems, etc. seemed like something worthwhile (They didn’t offer a Journalism or Communications degree). I wanted to fly, but I also knew that didn’t last forever.

That was pretty much the plan through my whole freshman year. I wasn’t great at math, but I never got less than a ‘C.’ Then, in the fall of 1979, the Iranian Hostage Crisis happened.

During the Sophomore year the core classes are pretty much done, and you start getting the Intro classes: Econ, Aero, Astro, Psych, etc. I was deep into my first Intro to Poli Sci class when the Iranians had their Revolution, kicked out the Shah, overran the US Embassy, and took 52 Americans hostage.

It lasted 444 days, and throughout the entire process, the stuff we studied in one Poli Sci class after another made complete sense to me. As a future Air Force officer, this was much more relevant to my immediate future than trying to sum moments around a beam. Thus, when it came time to declare a Major in the 2nd semester of my Sophomore year, it was pretty much a no-brainer for me: Poli Sci. Plus, I had no problem writing all the papers that degree required. Trying to wrap my head around an engineering degree and all that math? That was just work.

Looking back, I think that finding jobs outside the Air Force with an engineering degree may have been a bit easier in a town like Pittsburgh, but it all worked out fine. The basic education served me well, and I really enjoyed what I studied in my concentration.

My favorite classes were Terrorism (Political Violence & Societal Change); American Government; American Foreign Policy; International Law; Comparative Political Systems; Comparative Defense Policy; Modern Warfare & Society; the one Comp Sci class I took (punch cards!); Management, and Behavioral Science. I also took both Soaring and Free-Fall parachuting.

I took an Intro to Navigation class as one of my summer electives and though I got a B, it was great for making the first couple weeks of Nav School easier.