Bring Me Men Ramp

From USAFA Folklore

The Bring Me Men Ramp (BMMR) leads down from the Terrazzo through a portal to the road between Fairchild Hall and Vandenberg Hall. The base of the ramp ("BOR") is the traditional location for the arrival of new cadets on Inprocessing Day of Basic Cadet Training.

From 1965 to 2003, the words "Bring Me Men" appeared over the portal. The words were taken down in March 2003. Late the next year, they were replaced with the Academy's Core Values: "Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do". Many cadets and graduates continue to refer to the ramp as the "Bring Me Men" ramp, however, despite leadership's efforts to rename it. General Weida in particular preferred to call it the "Warrior Ramp".

[edit] History

• The words "Bring Me Men..." come from the poem "The Coming American", written by Samuel Walter Foss in 1894.
• The words were put up in response to the 1965 honor scandal. In February 1963, Strategic Air Command-trained General Robert W. Strong Jr. became commandant and set in place a number of policies and procedures to tighten discipline in the Wing. Then in Jan.-Feb. 1965, the first and biggest honor scandal to hit USAFA happened. 109 cadets were disenrolled, including 44 firsties. As a result, the morale in the Wing was crushed, and many of the Academy's basic ideals were challenged. To lift the vision of cadets from daily troubles to the greater institutional ideals, General Strong selected the poem and had the words "Bring Me Men" mounted over the ramp sometime between January and June 1965. It was meant to be a healing, vision inspiring sign of the same ilk as the Honor Wall. Since the Wing spent more time marching to the parade ground than around the Honor Wall, the "Bring Me Men" sign became deeply instilled in the consciousness of the cadet and graduate community.
• A metal gate inside the ramp was installed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Previously, the ramp had been open to the Terrazzo from the ground floor, allowing free access by personnel and vehicles. Many cadets took advantage of this, executing spirit missions such as parking cars on the Terrazzo or Spirit Hill.

[edit] Trivia

• "BOR" stands for "Base of the Ramp", specifically, the base of the Bring Me Men Ramp. The "BOR" is a common meeting point to travel to and from various cadet activities, such as football games and aviation programs at the airfield.
• The Bring Me Men Ramp as it originally appeared is featured in 2005's class painting by Rick Broome.