May 15, 2019

Class of 2019: Senior cadet reflects on building a bridge with National Forest Service

(National Forest Service photo) Story by Jennifer Spradlin, May 15, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadet 1st Class Ryan Howe will be the first to admit he didn’t plan on attending the Air Force Academy, but a fateful trip to the mechanical laboratory during Parents’ Weekend piqued his curiosity, and he applied. Four years later, he is set to graduate and pursue a master’s degree at the University of Washington, and fittingly, one of his standout memories from his time at the Academy is tied to an engineering project – albeit a civil engineering one. For three weeks last summer,...

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May 14, 2019

AF Academy releases security guidelines for graduation ceremony

Staff Reports, May 14, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy released its security guidelines for the Class of 2019 graduation ceremony, May 30 at Falcon Stadium. Earlier this month, 19,000 tickets to the ceremony were given to graduating cadets and their families and friends. Since then, all available tickets to the ceremony have been distributed to the general public. Service members and civilian employees at the Academy are encouraged to check at their place of work for extra tickets. Service members, their families, civilian employees and cadets at the Academy are encouraged to return any extra...

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May 6, 2019

Update: General public tickets to Academy graduation ceremony gone in minutes

U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs, May 6, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Tickets to the Air Force Academy’s Class of 2019 graduation ceremony released to the general public May 9 were swooped up within minutes. In all, just more than 600 graduation tickets to the May 30 ceremony at Falcon Stadium were picked up quickly at the chambers of commerce in Colorado Springs and Monument. There are no more tickets scheduled to be available to the general public at this time. Each year, tickets are distributed first to the graduating class. This year, more than 19,000 thousand...

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May 3, 2019

‘Just as much a hero’: Academy grad shares Vietnam experience with cadets

Story and photo by Jennifer Spradlin, May 3, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- One hundred fifty-one graduates of the Air Force Academy died in Vietnam but not Hank Hoffman. He knows he’s one of the lucky ones. Hoffman graduated in 1963. He went to Vietnam immediately after flight school, where he flew in four combat tours in B-52 and A-37 aircraft. “I have been waiting more than 40 years for someone to truly ask me about the Vietnam War,” Hoffman said from the stage of Arnold Hall while briefing cadets. He showed them a cramped photograph of 17 cadets...

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May 2, 2019

From the sky to the classroom: Air Force Academy launches virtual tour

Public Affairs staff report, May 2, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- So you want to visit the Academy but don’t feel like leaving home? All you need is the internet, thanks to an interactive, 360-degree virtual tour the school launched May 1. “Every potential cadet, family member, community member and general supporter gets an authentic, behind-the-scenes view of what the Academy is like,” said Mike Peterson, the Academy’s chief of outreach. The tour can be taken with smartphones, computers, or via head-mounted display across the Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Airfield and through the remotely piloted aircraft center, the...

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April 29, 2019

Accreditation process begins at Air Force Academy

(U.S. Air Force photo/Trevor Cokley) Story by Ray Bowden, April 29, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A team from the Higher Learning Commission is at the Air Force Academy to determine if the school meets the standards to reaffirm its accredited status. The HLC's visit, April 29-30, will allow the Academy to showcase how it meets standards set by peer institutions of higher learning and complies with federal law to graduate officers with a Bachelor of Science degree. “We’ve been preparing for the HLC visit for more than a year, but to my mind, we’ve been preparing every day...

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April 26, 2019

Academy announces finalist for next dean of faculty

U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs / April 26, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The U.S. Air Force Academy announced April 26 that Col. Linell Letendre is the remaining finalist in the selection process for the Academy's 11th Dean of the Faculty. The announcement follows an exhaustive panel process, in coordination with Air Force senior leaders, in which more than 40 applicants were vetted and evaluated for the position. "This is wonderful news for our cadets, our faculty, and our Academy," said Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria. "Linell's leadership and commitment to world-class education and leader development will be invaluable to the USAFA team. She has...

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April 25, 2019

Academy supports Denim Day, international movement against sexual assault

U.S. Air Force photo/Darcie L. Ibidapo) Story by Ray Bowden, April 25, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadets and Airmen at the Air Force Academy opted to wear denim April 24 to show solidarity for victims of sexual assault. They participated in Denim Day, an international effort to raise awareness and promote respect. Cadets Kiana Brantley, Abe Rice, and Jess Tobias were among the scores of cadets wearing denim and sporting black "Stand Up USAFA" T-shirts. “Denim Day came about because cadets wanted it to be here,” Cadet 1st Class Tobias said. Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria allowed the...

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April 23, 2019

Academy cadets take 1st place at NSA-sponsored cyber competition

From left: Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy; Capt. Justin Raynor, a computer science instructor at the Academy; Cadet 1st Class James Lynch; and Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, U.S. Cyber Command commander, director of National Security Agency, and chief of the Central Security Service, at the Academy, April 17, 2019. Lynch was on the team of Academy cadets who took first place at the NSA's annual Cyber Exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo/Joshua Armstrong) Story by Ray Bowden, April 23, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadets at the Air Force Academy grabbed the top slot...

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April 22, 2019

Cultural Immersion Program trips make ‘the world a bit smaller’

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Brianna Murray (middle left) sits with Ugandans during a Cultural Information Program trip to East Africa during spring break, 2019. (Courtesy photo) By Jennifer Spradlin U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadet 1st Class Brianna Murray came to the Air Force Academy looking for a chance to be part of something bigger than herself, and recently realized part of that goal with a Cultural Immersion Program trip to East Africa. Murray and three other cadets joined Dr. John Riley, an associate professor in political science, on a 10-day trip during spring break to Rwanda...

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