Latest southern Colorado news, weather and sports from FOX21 News

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The next class of Air Force Academy cadets arrived Thursday for basic training.  The Academy received 12,713 applications for the 1,159 slots, including nine international cadets.

For the basic cadet trainees, Thursday is their first day of their military career, and while it's an emotional day for mom and dad, it's what these future cadets have been waiting for.

"I'm feeling very anxious, it's a little bit of excitement mixed with nervousness," Patrick Berwyn, basic cadet trainee, said.

But after these basic cadet trainees head up the stairs of Doolittle Hall and onto a bus, it's all business.

No smiles, no talking, hands cuffed to your side and only speak when spoken to. Those are the rules for the Air Force Academy's class of 2015.

For about the next month these men and women will go through physical conditioning, marching drills and weapons training.

But on day one the basic cadet trainees are running around campus, filling out paperwork, getting shots and of course the dreaded haircut.

"It's overwhelming the pride, joy, [we're] humbled he got picked," Kathy Tucker Fadul, AFA basic cadet trainee parent, said.

While the beginning of basic training is tough for everyone, it's an exciting start for their next four years at the Air Force Academy.