Air Force Academy families gathered this week in town for Parents Weekend to applaud the feats of the school’s parachutists and glider pilots, cheer for the football team, and see the school that tests their child’s mental and physical limits.

The fiercely proud parents, who flooded onto campus decked out in royal blue, can also have an outpouring of questions particularly when they drop off their students for the first time or a new superintendent takes over leadership — as Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind did in August. The new superintendent promised to make the academy experience more demanding and restricted all cadets to base as classes got started during cleanup efforts and an emphasis on uniform inspections. The restriction was lifted Aug. 23.

To help field questions and soothe nerves, the school staff supports a network of 88 parents’ clubs across the country in every state, Europe and Guam, parent liaisons Carrie Clancy and Marie Nikovits said. One of the clubs is also fully virtual, they said.

The clubs provide peer mentorship with the parents of older cadets mentoring those with younger students, they said, in addition the club leaders receive training to help disseminate factual information. The parent clubs across the country vary in size from small clubs that gather more informally for dinner or to watch football games to more formal nonprofits that fundraise.

USAFA Oklahoma Parents Club President Melissa Beaman said her position was challenging amid Bauernfeind’s new emphasis on strict standards. The changes generated a rumor mill on social media and concerns about students not having enough to eat. The academy said during the restriction to base, Mitchell Hall saw a shortage of steak but other options such as chicken and fish were available.

Concerns around food generated additional calls and emails to her club, Beaman said.

“That’s where we kind of step in and say, ‘Hey, things are okay, They are doing everything that they can do,” she said.

As part of parents’ weekend, the club presidents received a tour of Mitchell Hall and learned about options available to cadets, such as the grab-and-go option where cadets can pick items up for free.

The club also functions as social support for parents who need to share their tears or stories, Beaman said.

Rebecca and Michael Webb found the parents’ club in Indiana helpful in several ways including setting expectations for spending time and planning activities with their son on parents weekend.

After the grueling summer, the freshman cadets need rest on the long weekend, they explained.

“They’re not going to want to go hike. They want to lay in a bed,” Michael Webb said.

The annual wave of questions is typically from the parents of freshmen, who have no contact with their student during the first six weeks of training, aside from letters and three phone calls, Clancy and Nikovits said. It’s particularly tough in a world where everyone is constantly connected via text.

While a cadet might write a concerning letter, by the time it’s received the student might be doing much better.

“It’s like a roller coaster that both the parents and the cadets go through,” Nikovits said.

Parents can request wellness checks if they feel it is necessary. But the liaisons encourage parents to step back and allow cadets to advocate for themselves.

“They need to step up if they’re having issues or complaints or what have you, and use the systems in place to do that,” Nikovits said.

Changes in command at the school are also training experiences for the cadets because they will see constant changes in leadership styles in active duty, they said.