Thunderbird Youth Challenge

I attended TBYA when I was 17 in 2008 and the first 3 days weren't great but growing up in a military family made the transition easier and sergeants McCorkel and Barnes were amazing instructors and made sure that life there was simple and straightforward and I went forward in life from there with my head held high.

This place helped shape my life. My parents put me into this thing when I was a troubled teen. I graduated with nearly every award you could win and joined the military afterwards. This program changed my life and I will recommend this to everyone who has a troubled teen. Thank you, Thunderbird. 🖤

This is a normal occurrence that happens here. It's also normal to see pryor pd there alot. Yet they deny it when asked. The director (stouts) has even said the general public is a safety liability. Our tax dollars pay for this roughly 2 million for state. Then they get federal funding up to 3 million and looking for more. Plus what ever they get in donations. Why is one school getting over 5 million?

This experience was something extraordinary, I feel every teen should attend, Thunderbird gets such a bad wrap but really this changed who I was as a person for the better, it's not a place for bad kids, but it's a place that teaches you how to better love yourself and grow to become a greater person , the staff are so under rated, especially the team leaders they truly care and are there for you, they take time out of there day to watch you or plan things for you, go to Thunderbird because you'll love it and it'll grow you into an outstanding young adult!!! ❤️ - Cadet Tackel, Cycle 64 HARDCORE!!!

Thunderbird squared away my niece. She was an extremely troubled teen, on a self destructive path to a trailer park. After Thunderbird, she enlisted into the Navy. She just graduated the top of her class. Hopefully my nephew will be attending Thunderbird starting January.

As a Thunderbird Graduate myself, I can just say that this is such a great place to be. It’s not a place for “bad kids” as it’s known for here in Oklahoma. Thunderbird is such a great place to be. You have an excellent support system through it all, whether that be the Team Leaders, other cadets, or counselors. You also learn so many important skills here such as time management, teamwork, leadership, dedication, hard-working, etc. The memories and friendships you make here will also last a lifetime. It may be hard in the beginning, but it will eventually get easier. By the time it will be to graduate, you will end up missing it and wish you go back. I highly recommend Thunderbird to anyone and everyone

I am a member of cycle 46 in 2016. Active duty army 2018-2021 I beg you not to send your children here. This program is ran by national guard members. They do not instill any military responsibility’s or respect. They will dehumanize your children and take their anger from home and issues out on your kids. I got pneumonia and a rash on my privates due to only being able to shower for 1 minute a day and not being able to wash. There are good programs out there for troubled youth this is not one of them. I am disappointed in the service members who run this facility. I was forced to go to a fire and brimstone Baptist church if you did not go or claimed to not be religious, you were forced to do PT (physical training, a.k.a. Forced exercise.) until church was over. I learned what alcoholics look liked while I was there And I learned with unresolved anger, problems and failed marriages can look like. I would go through Boot Camp in the army six times Before I ever step foot or sent my child to that facility

I was a cadet here a couple of years ago and I went in under the impression that it would be a lot more calm due to the way the recruiter described the establishment. I was not treated well here by most of the staff and by the other cadets. Many of the staff was under just as much stress as we were and it showed. Nobody made sure that I would eat or that I was in good mental health. The counselors, on a good day would just give you a pat on the back and send you on your way. I lost 20 pounds while I was already skinny and I saw things I can never scrub out of my mind and I just thought parents should see this before sending their child here. The staff is simply inept and incompetent, if they showed me something else then I wouldn’t be here making this review. There were so many fights and situations where police had to show up. I made this review soon after I attended this institution and to see that they just responded with a period baffles me. An absurd amount of health violations were being committed here. A prison is more comparable to this facility than a school. Please consider your child’s mental health. They tell you in an orientation that your child will say anything and lie to you in their phone calls to get out of there. Don’t believe that. They will see the worst fights in their life due to understaffing, and more than likely be worse than you send them in. A free military school program should sound strange to anyone in the first place.