Jacob Fields, a 2013 graduate of Joseph City High School, has received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Fields, the son of Bryan and Julie Fields of Joseph City, will report to the academy for basic training on June 30, where he will be one of 1,175 other men and women selected for the Class of 2020. Over 9,700 applicants competed for one of the available spots.
Fields said that a big part of his success is due to the support of his family and the coaches at Joseph City High School. “I’m very blessed. My parents are always pushing me to excel and very supportive of me, and so were my coaches in school, John Bryant, Eric Miller, Scott Corum and Kent Baldwin, and each of their assistant coaches,” he said.
To receive an academy appointment Fields had to undergo an extensive application process that most often requires a nomination from a U.S. Congressman or Senator, or from the Vice President of the United States. Fields, however, received his nomination from the Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) detachment at Arizona State University (ASU), where he has been attending since August 2015.
Fields was very active in high school, where he excelled in the academic, athletic, service and leadership environments. He was a member of the National Honor Society and was the salutatorian of his class, graduating with a 4.237 grade point average. He received numerous awards, including Congressional Recognition and the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s 1A-3A Overall Male Scholar-Athlete for 2013.
Athletically, Fields received accolades in football, basketball and track. His leadership positions included service as Student Council vice president, class president, National Honor Society president, and team captain for football and basketball. He is also an Eagle Scout.
After graduating from high school, Fields served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from July 2013 to June 2015. For the last year he has been attending ASU on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. While attending ASU he maintained a high GPA while also participating in and graduating from additional ROTC opportunities such as the grueling program known as BARC (Battlefield Airmen Readiness Course). In addition, he was a member of the college military honor society called Scabbard and Blade made up of all ROTC cadets and midshipmen from all military services.
The BARC training was not required of Fields as part of his ROTC training, but he made the decision based on his future goals. “My first choice is to be a pilot, but combat rescue is my second choice, so this was something that was very important to me,” he said, adding that both physical and mental strength are required to succeed at the program which involved devoting each Saturday for three months to running, calisthenics and water exercises. When asked what the more challenging aspects of the training were, Fields noted two. “During the running exercises I was required to carry a 60-lb. pack for 15 miles. When I got to the last three miles on the first run my shin splints really started to hurt and my legs began to cramp, but I finished it,” he said. Another was the water training. “I did swim team when I was a kid, but this was a real wake-up call. You can go through a lot on land, but when you take away air it requires an entirely different mental focus,” Fields said.
Of the 200 cadets in Field’s ROTC unit, only 17 chose to participate in the BARC training. Of those 17, only Fields and two others completed the program.
Fields said that he has had the goal to attend the Air Force Academy since he was a sophomore in high school, and that his desire to serve his country and become a pilot were influential in his decision.
Military academy appointees are evaluated for a variety of qualifications, including moral character, strong academic record, demonstrated leadership potential, physical fitness and commitment to serve at least a five-year military term in the United States Armed Forces upon graduation. Pilots commit to serving 10-year terms upon graduation.
