March 23, 2018

Cadets trade spring break fun for dirt, debris

By Maureen Welch/March 23, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Spring break usually conjures thoughts of fun and sun, but scores of cadets will spend their time building or repairing homes and clearing debris as part of the Air Force Academy’s Alternate Spring Break Program. "The cadet-volunteers will team-up with Habitat for Humanity volunteers in nine separate locations," said Maj. Brian Fash, cadet service learning deputy. “Two areas were affected by hurricanes.” Fash said the 99 cadets in the program departed March 23 for the 10-day break. "So far this academic year, the cadets have completed more than 22,031...

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March 6, 2018

Jason‘s journey: USAFA firefighter battles terminal cancer

By Laurie Wilson, March 8, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- If you’re looking for an example of resiliency, chat with Master Sgt. Jason Linta. He’s an Air Force Academy firefighter assigned to the 10th Civil Engineer Squadron who fought the Black Forest and Waldo Canyon fires, the most destructive fires in Colorado history. He’s trained coalition firefighters while deployed to Southwest Asia. He’s got 23 years of military service under his belt and he’s the husband to wife Audrey and father to their three teenage children. He’s made many friends along the way, due partly to his sense...

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March 6, 2018

Cadet Recognition is underway at USAFA

By Maureen Welch/March 6, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- If you’re a cadet fourth class at the Air Force Academy, you’re probably not thinking about baseball as spring approaches. You’ve likely got Recognition on your mind. For these cadets, the change of season means it’s time for Recognition. “Recognition is an institutional rite of passage,” said Cadet Wing Vice-Commandant Col. John Price. “This year, over 1,100 cadets in the Class of 2021 will seek to complete it.” Cadet Wing Commander Cadet 1st Class Kaitlyn Barry said Recognition is demanding. “The focus is on evaluating the competencies cadets have learned...

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February 28, 2018

NCLS event: Ivy League academics encourage cadets to seek truth in conversation

By Ray Bowden, Feb. 28, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Popular US academics Robert George and Cornel West disagree on politics. It hasn’t affected their friendship. In fact, they said, their ongoing discussions have brought them closer. “Love is not reduced by politics,” West said to an audience of cadets, faculty members and visiting college students during the professors’ National Character and Leadership Symposium presentation Feb. 23 at the Air Force Academy. George and West sat side by side on the stage and repeatedly described themselves as “brothers” during their hour-long appearance in Arnold Hall Theater. George, McCormick Professor...

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February 27, 2018

‘There are survivors in this room’: Experts, victim speak-out against sexual assault at NCLS

By Ray Bowden, Feb. 27, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- An anonymous person at the Air Force Academy said Feb. 23 that they survived a sexual assault. This information was shared via text messaging used during a Q&A session at the “Raising Our Voices: Surviving Sexual Assault” presentation in Fairchild Hall that day. “One in six boys is sexually assaulted by the age of 18,” said Dr. Kimberly Dickman, Academy sexual assault response analyst and the school’s Sexual Assault and Response Program manager. “Nationally, one in four women will be victims of sexual assault.” Dickman hosted the “Raising Our...

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February 21, 2018

Warrior Games to return to Colorado Springs

DoD Warrior Games Public Affairs, Feb. 16, 2018 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFNS) -- Community and business leaders joined military representatives at the Air Force Academy Feb. 15 to mark the 100-day countdown until athletes arrive in Colorado for the 2018 Department of Defense Warrior Games. Now in its ninth year, the Warrior Games are returning to Colorado Springs, the city that hosted the inaugural Games in 2010. The event is free and open to the public throughout the competition, June 2-9. The Warrior Games are a Paralympic-style competition between the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command. The...

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February 14, 2018

Speeders ticketed in construction zone, tri-intersection bridge work on schedule

By Ray Bowden and Laurie Wilson U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy saw a spike in speeding tickets given this month near the tri-intersection bridge. Citations were given to drivers of vehicles in the construction zone near the intersection of Pine Drive and Stadium Boulevard, where work is being done to refurbish the tri-intersection bridge. “For first-time offenders, the next step may include removal of driving privileges on-base,” said Col. David Harris, Academy vice commander. Chief Master Sgt. Shadd McKee, manager of the 10th Security Forces Squadron, said the suspension of base-driving privileges is based on a...

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February 6, 2018

USAFA’s Equestrian Center helps wounded warrior ‘thrive in life’

U.S. Air Force Academy Equestrian Center Manager Billy Jack Barrett (left) and Dr. Dave Andrews, former Air Force major and medic pose for a photo at the Equestrian Center. (U.S. Air Force photo/Laurie Wilson) By Laurie Wilson, Feb. 6, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Winston Churchill said “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man." Dr. Dave Andrews, former Air Force major and medic, believes this is absolutely true. His recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder started with a four-legged “therapist” stabled at the Air Force Academy Equestrian Center, part of their...

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January 30, 2018

Anna Weilbacher named Rifle Athlete of the Week

By Madeline McGuire, Jan. 30, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --This week’s Air Force Academy Rifle Athlete of the Week is junior Anna Weilbacher of Leona Valley, Calif. At the Citadel/VMI matches in Charleston, S.C. last weekend, Weilbacher was the overall top scorer on both days of the competition, Jan. 27-28. In the first match, she fired a 581 in smallbore and 594 in the air rifle. Her aggregate score was 1175, which led all shooters in the match. Weilbacher went on to lead in the Jan. 28 match against the Bulldogs, firing a 584 in smallbore and 592...

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January 26, 2018

Cadets, faculty earn research awards at USAFA

(From left: Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy; Cadet 1st Class Molly Phillips,  overall winner of the Thomas D. Moore Award for Outstanding Cadet Summer Research; Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center; and Col. Gary Packard, vice dean of faculty, stand onstage Jan. 25, 2018 in Polaris Hall during the 22nd Annual Research Awards Program ceremony. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Charlie Rivezzo) By Ray Bowden/Jan. 26, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadet and faculty researchers were the focus of attention Jan. 25 at the Air Force...

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