April 11, 2022

Elon Musk urges cadet researchers at U.S. Air Force Academy to keep innovating, make rocket launches ‘boring’

Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent, and Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, discuss space exploration and innovation during the Ira C. Eaker Lecture, Air Force Academy, Colo., April 7, 2022. Musk encouraged cadets to tackle research problems, break barriers and turn fiction into reality. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Tech. Sgt. Zach Vaughn, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk motivated cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy to keep the research industry on its toes by fighting complacency and working overtime to break boundaries. “We want...

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April 6, 2022

DoD’s chief experience officer sees Academy benchmarks in improving IT for Airmen, Guardians

Story by Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – A top technology official at the Air Force Academy said the school is an “incubator of IT capabilities” that could benefit the entire Air Force and Space Force in using and managing its IT infrastructure. “We’re a fully operational IT ecosystem, which provides the two services with new ideas on how to employ and manage mobile device technologies and cloud-hosted resources,” said the Academy’s chief technology officer, Mike Andrews. Andrews, and his boss, Col. Harold Hoang, the Academy’s communications...

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March 30, 2022

U.S. Air Force Academy pays tribute to beloved 10th superintendent, Lt. Gen. Scott

Father Robert Bruno, a retired colonel and former U.S. Air Force Academy command chaplain, blesses a cross held by Kay Scott, daughter of Lt. Gen. Winfield W. “Skip” Scott Jr., during Scott’s committal service at the Academy’s Memorial Pavilion, March 29, 2022. Scott, a 1950 West Point graduate, served as the Academy’s 10th superintendent, 1983-1987. Scott passed away March 19, 2022. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Justin R. Pacheco)  U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs,   U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Lt. Gen Winfield W. “Skip” Scott Jr., the 10th superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, was laid...

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March 21, 2022

Academy cadets team up with Air Force’s Office of Scientific Research to improve hypersonic systems

Cadets 1st Class Sean Adams and Peter Garlisi prepare the Mach 6 Ludwieg Tube to test boundary layer transition - BOLT - geometry in the Air Force Academy's aeronautic lab, March 16, 2022. NASA reached out to the Academy in 2021 for the institution's support of a series of BOLT tests. (U.S. Air Force photo) By U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Researchers at the Air Force Academy and the service’s Office of Scientific Research say an experimental rocket launch will help the Air Force design air and space craft better able to withstand...

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March 16, 2022

Cadets close out Recognition challenges at AF Academy

Basic cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy run toward Cathedral Rock to bring Recognition to a close, March 12, 2022. The traditional "Run to the Rock" is one of the final activities for basic cadets during Recognition, three days of rigorous teambuilding and leadership challenges.  Story by Ray Bowden, photos by Joshua Armstrong U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Freshmen at the Air Force Academy brought Recognition to a close March 12 with “Run to the Rock,” a trek to Cathedral Rock. The march ends Recognition, three days of training for freshmen to demonstrate...

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March 11, 2022

AF Academy’s top former enlisted role model for cadets retires

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Bob Vasquez encourages basic cadets during a drill at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Vasquez retired from his position as the Cadet Wing’s curriculum branch manager, Feb. 28, 2022 and worked with cadets for 20 years after retiring from active duty in 2002. (U.S. Air Force Academy photo) By Julie Imada, Center for Character and Leadership Development U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - A former chief master sergeant popular at the Air Force Academy, retired from his position as the Cadet wing’s curriculum branch manager, Feb. 28. Bob Vasquez took on several roles at the Academy...

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February 16, 2022

Getting cadets to graduation: A senior NCO speaks out on his special duty as an academy military trainer

Master Sgt. Brian Kelsey, an academy military trainer at the Air Force Academy, is shown here in his Vandenberg Hall office. Story by Ray Bowden, Photo by Trevor Cokley U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - If you’re assigned to cadet squadron 12 at the Air Force Academy and need advice, talk to Master Sgt. Brian Kelsey. If you want to chat about skiing, rock climbing, his four children or woodworking, he’s good with that, too. Kelsey is the squadron’s lead academy military trainer, one of more than 100 enlisted airmen leading, training and serving as military role models for the school’s...

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December 22, 2021

Air Force Academy grad embraces new NASA role, future of spaceflight

Kelvin Manning was named deputy director at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after serving as the Florida spaceport’s associate director for more than a decade. (NASA photo/Kim Shifle) Story by Jim Cawley, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center public Affairs   KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Kelvin Manning has served in several critical roles in his nearly 30 years at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. He was the Florida spaceport’s associate director for more than a decade. He also held multiple key positions within the Space Shuttle Program, was the first division chief for the agency’s Orion spacecraft, and served on the last three NASA...

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December 10, 2021

Aeronautics cadets, faculty celebrate high-tech aerospace lab upgrades

Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent, and Cadet 1st Class Justin Yates cut a ribbon to celebrate the installation of two new flight simulators and a shock combustion tube in the school's aerospace laboratory, Dec. 7, 2021.   Story by Ray Bowden, all photos by Justin Pacheco U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Cadets researching aeronautics at the Air Force Academy showed off two newly installed $2.2 million simulators and a $1 million combustion shock tube used for hydrocarbon combustion experiments, Dec. 7 Lab director Lt. Col. Judson Babcock said cadets use the Merlin P521 engineering flight simulators...

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November 8, 2021

Space Force detachment opens at Academy with high-altitude celebration

(Photo by Cadet 3rd Class Connor Brezenski) Story by Ray Bowden U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Guardians at the Air Force Academy hiked to the top of Eagles Peak Nov. 5 to celebrate the activation of a Space Force detachment at the school. The group displayed the Space Force flag at the summit to herald the opening of Space Force Delta 13, Detachment 1 - the first Space Force unit authorized at the school, also displaying the detachment’s flag at the peak. The Academy is the top commissioning source for Space Force officers, and roughly 200 Space Force officers have...

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