July 16, 2019

Defense Digital Service team visits Academy to observe security clearance processes

[caption id="attachment_23063" align="alignnone" width="648"] (Photo/Trevor Cokley)[/caption]   By Jennifer Spradlin, July 6, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Defense Digital Service team visited the Academy last week to observe how new cadets completed an electronic questionnaire necessary to attain security clearances. The team’s goal: eliminate redundancies across multiple agencies and build a new software prototype to improve the user experience. “We have a 1-to-2 percent margin of error in our applications, which is pretty phenomenal for this kind of effort,” said Dr. Gayle Blue-Keyes, Academy director of information protection. Each summer, more than 1,000 new cadets fill out...

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July 15, 2019

AF Academy to celebrate 50th Anniversary of Lunar Landing

U.S. Air Force Academy -- (U.S. Air Force photo/Trevor Cokley) By Judith Cara, July 15, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.-- Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted away from Earth on a Saturn V rocket on July 16, 1969. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin set foot on the moon, the first humans to do so. The three returned to Earth on July 24. Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing are planned around the world. Whether you remember that day or have experienced it only through videos and stories, visit the Air Force...

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July 12, 2019

Field Day: Basic cadets at AF Academy compete in annual athletic team-building challenge

(Photo by Darcie Ibidapo) By Ray Bowden, July 12, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- “You  OK? You’re good, right?” a basic cadet asked a classmate as he breathed hard, clutching a chain-link fence for support. Moments earlier, the pair sprinted over the finish line of a long distance run, one of several challenges July 12 during Field Day. The annual event at the Air Force Academy marks the halfway point of Basic Cadet Training. “Competing together builds cohesion,” said Cadet 2nd Class Krisanna Reynolds. “The basic cadets get to talk to each other and get to know one another,...

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July 10, 2019

AF Academy cadets teach their vice superintendent how to freefall

Third from right: Col. Houston Cantwell, vice superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, poses for a photograph at the U.S. Air Force Academy with a cadet instructor (fifth from right) and his Airmanship 490 cadet classmates, July 2019. (All photos courtesy of the 98th Flying Training Squadron) Commentary by Col. Houston Cantwell, U.S. Air Force Academy vice superintendent, July 10, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  "Stand in the door!” Never before had four words caused such extreme personal anxiety. Circling above the Air Force Academy in the back of our trusty Twin Otter aircraft at 4,500 feet,...

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July 8, 2019

AF Academy, Air Education and Training Command host technology-infused basic aviation skills training

Story and photos by Jennifer Spradlin, July 8, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Colorado Springs high school students and recent Air Force Academy graduates are flying together -- in the classroom -- thanks to training devices that simulate the T-6 Texan II training aircraft. The Academy is hosting high school summer training sessions in partnership with Air Education and Training Command to explore the benefits of exposing students to basic aviation skills using virtual reality technology. “Advances in technology have led us to really consider how we train potential pilots -- is there a better way? We think there...

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July 3, 2019

‘An exchange of ideas’: 306th FTG instructors visit French air force academy

Capt. Gabriel Paterson, flight commander for the U.S. Air Force Academy Flying Team, and Lt. Col. Abby Frander (right), commander of the 98 Flying Training Squadron at the Academy,  stand near a Cirrus SR22 aircraft with a pilot from the Ecole de l'Air -- the French air force academy.  Cadre from the 306th Flying Training Group traveled to France in June to visit their French counterparts and share information about airfield operations and the Academy's Airmanship Programs (Courtesy photo). By Jennifer Spradlin, June 3, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Instructors from the 306th Flying Training Group traveled to France...

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July 3, 2019

Top 9 ways for parents to survive Basic Cadet Training

(U.S. Air Force photo) Staff reports, July 3, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Missing your cadet now that they've started Basic Cadet Training at the Air Force Academy? Here's a few tips to fill up that "empty nest" until Parents Weekend starts Aug. 30. 1.  Take a Trip With all the money you're saving on groceries, why not just get away for a while?   2.  Make new friends  (U.S. Air Force Academy photo) There are nearly 100 Parents’ Clubs across the country. Join one in your state.   3.  Rearrange your cadet’s room at home No doubt...

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July 1, 2019

Air Force Academy goes high-tech with first-responder software

Staff Sgt. Jake Craig, a military working dog handler assigned to the the 10th Security Forces Squadron at the Air Force Academy, and his dog take a break while providing security at Clune Arena, June 27, 2019. The 10th SFS and other first-responders at the base are expected to benefit from the use of the Air Force Disaster Response Force Common Operating Picture, now in use at the base. It's a high-tech emergency-management program that allows first-responders to get accurate, moment by moment information when responding to any major disaster or incident. (Photo/Darcie Ibidapo) By Ray Bowden, July 1, 2019...

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June 28, 2019

Academy appointees start Basic Cadet Training fueled by family support

(U.S. Air Force photo/Darcie Ibidapo) Story by Ray Bowden, June 29, 2019 U.S AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Scores of young men and women reported to Basic Cadet Training at the Air Force Academy June 27. In all, nearly 1,200 took their first steps toward joining the Academy’s Class of 2023. It’s a diverse class too, with 367 trainees identifying as minorities. One-hundred-nineteen are African-American, six are Native American, 105 are Asian and 17 are Pacific Islanders, according to the latest report from the Academy’s Admissions Office. Twenty new Academy appointees did not confirm their ethnic identity at the time of...

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June 25, 2019

AF Academy teams up with Test Pilot School in new candidacy program

Story by Jennifer Spradlin, June 25, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Two Air Force Academy graduates from the Class of 2019 have been nominated to attend the Air Force Test Pilot School in 2022 as part of a new training partnership between the two institutions. Test Pilot School is a highly competitive, 48-week, educational opportunity for aviators, combat systems officers, remotely piloted aircraft pilots and engineers. Graduates of the course receive a master’s of science in flight test engineering and go on to test a variety of aerospace weapon systems for use in the Air Force. Col. Brian Neff,...

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