I served and flew alongside many Academy Grads, everyone was a top performer. In order to get accepted to the Academy, one must have excellent grades and scores on College admissions tests as well as a clean record and be of high moral fiber. It’s extremely difficult to make the grade in order to get accepted to the Academy. I went to OTS, which is a 3 month program for applicants who have already graduated college. I always felt a little guilty being the same rank, after my short 3 month course, than my Academy counterparts who spent 4 years plus to attain the same rank. They do have a very strong “espirit de corps” and having an Academy lineage definitely helps as far as promotions and assignments to a certain degree. All the yelling and intimidation ends soon, and is just a tactic used to cull the herd.