October 13, 2021

Academy prep school commander stays ‘Husky Strong’ in battle with cancer

Colonel Melissa Youderian, commander of the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School. (Courtesy photo) Story by Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Melissa Youderian donated her long hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit for children suffering hair loss, after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. “Though it was a deliberate decision and I thought it would be uplifting to donate my hair before the treatment took it, I had tears running down my face the entire haircut,” she said. “It was one of those ‘this is actually happening’ moments.” Youderian is a...

Continue Reading Academy prep school commander stays ‘Husky Strong’ in battle with cancer

October 8, 2021

Historians encourage cadets to balance justice, mercy at Harmon Memorial lecture

Story by Ray Bowden, photo by Justin Pacheco U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Popular historians with ties to the Air Force Academy said mercy mitigates the fray of war and civil conflict. The husband and wife team of David and Jeanne Heidler were the featured speakers at the Harmon Memorial Lecture, the school’s most prominent lecture series, in Fairchild Hall, Oct. 5. The Heidlers each have doctorates in U.S history from Auburn University, Alabama, and have wrote 12 books on the early-American republic, the antebellum period and Civil War. “The American Revolution was unlike anything that had occurred anywhere...

Continue Reading Historians encourage cadets to balance justice, mercy at Harmon Memorial lecture

October 5, 2021

Academy honors air power, ace pilot Robin Olds with memorial

United States Air Force Academy graduates, family members and staff tour the just-unveiled Air Warrior Combat memorial at the Academy, Oct. 1, 2021. The $1.4 million memorial features a model of the F4 Phantom aircraft and a statue of ace pilot and former Academy commandant of cadets, Brig. Gen. Robin Olds.  Story by Ray Bowden, all photos by Trevor Cokley U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - A $1.4 million memorial celebrating the first 100 years of aerial combat was unveiled at the Air Force Academy, Oct. 1. The Air Warrior Combat Memorial near North Gate and Stadium boulevards features a...

Continue Reading Academy honors air power, ace pilot Robin Olds with memorial

September 24, 2021

IFC, security experts highlight cybersecurity during online panel

U.S. Air Force Academy photo By Tech. Sgt. Zack Vaughn, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Senior cyber experts gave their take on the importance of cyber operations during an online forum sponsored by the Institute for Future Conflict at the Air Force Academy, Sept. 23. Retired Lt. Gen. Bradford Shwedo, the IFC’s director, hosted the forum featuring Lt. Gen. Charles Moore, U.S. Cyber Command deputy, and other career DoD cyber security professionals. During the forum, Shwedo discussed the importance of cybersecurity in major Air Force logistical movements. “The world watched us move the...

Continue Reading IFC, security experts highlight cybersecurity during online panel

September 21, 2021

Security pros highlight challenges, opportunities of conflict in modern IT battlefield

From left: Retired Lt. Gen. Brad Shwedo, former Joint Staff chief information officer; retired Brig. Gen. David Stilwell, former assistant Secretary of State; and Col. Miriam Krieger, political science department head at the U.S. Air Force Academy, take part in a panel hosted by the school's Institute for Future Conflict and Center for Character and Leadership Development, with Cadet 1st Class Justin Yates (right) moderating, Sept. 17, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo/Trevor Cokley) Story by Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Technology is a boon for U.S. defense but its exploitation by...

Continue Reading Security pros highlight challenges, opportunities of conflict in modern IT battlefield

September 20, 2021

Academy expands capabilities, capacity with multi-domain lab

Lieutenant Gen. Richard Clark, Superintendent of the Air Force Academy, tries out a flight simulator installed in the school's new multi-domain laboratory, Sept. 17, 2021.  Story by Ray Bowden, photos by Dean Miller U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy’s top military and strategic studies expert said the school’s new multi-domain laboratory would give cadets a clear and accurate view of battle operations, Sept. 17. Housed in Fairchild Hall, the $9.5 million lab opened for business to cadets and faculty with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by staff, faculty and school industry partners that day. The lab contains two...

Continue Reading Academy expands capabilities, capacity with multi-domain lab

September 17, 2021

Academy names learning center after ’64 grad, astronaut

Retired Col. Frederick Gregory, astronaut, pilot and 1964 graduate of the Air Force Academy, applauds during a ceremony naming the school's consolidated education and training facility "Gregory Hall" in his honor, Sept. 16, 2021. Seated onstage are Lt. Gen. Richard Clark (left), the Academy's superintendent, and Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre, the school's dean. (U.S. Air Force Academy photo/Trevor/Cokley) Story by Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A research hub for Air Force Academy cadets was named after Air Force pilot and astronaut Frederick Gregory, Sept. 16. Formerly the consolidated education and training facility,...

Continue Reading Academy names learning center after ’64 grad, astronaut

September 16, 2021

Eye care for 10th Medical Group patients expands with a ‘smile’

Story and photos by Tech. Sgt. Zach Vaughn, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs Service members and cadets at the Air Force Academy may be eligible to receive a new eye procedure designed to improve their sight. The small incisional lenticular extraction, or SMILE, procedure is less invasive than LASIK, a common laser eye surgery, according to Lt. Col. Marcus Neuffer, the Academy’s chief surgeon assigned to the 10th Medical Group. “The LASIK procedure makes a flap which acts like a Band-Aid,” he said. “But the issue with the flap is that people worry about it getting wrinkled. SMILE is...

Continue Reading Eye care for 10th Medical Group patients expands with a ‘smile’

September 15, 2021

Top authors promote creative thinking at Academy, Homeland Defense Institute symposium

Story by Tech. Sgt. Zach Vaughn, photos by Josh Armstrong Two New York Time’s best-selling authors shared their creative view on solving problems with Academy cadets and staff during the Breaking America symposium, Sept. 10. The Homeland Defense Institute, created by the Academy and North American Aerospace Defense Command-Northern Command to study potential future domestic threats across Canada and the U.S., sponsored the event. Fiction authors August Cole and Peter Singer’s presentation focused on what they called “fictional intelligence” also known as “useful fiction.” “It’s not futurism, design or speculative fiction,” said Singer. “[Useful fiction] is a deliberate blend of...

Continue Reading Top authors promote creative thinking at Academy, Homeland Defense Institute symposium

August 4, 2021

Academy cadets soar through summer

(From left) Maj. Chris Heiserman, the 94th Flying Training Squadron's director of staff, and Air Force Academy Cadets 1st Class Garrett Dean and Sean Bedwell, conduct final flight checks before Bedwell makes a sortie in the glider to land at Stillman Parade Field, Aug. 3, 2021. Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Seth Stang, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The 306th Flying Training Group operates one of the Defense Department’s top 10 busiest runways where more than 120 aircraft gain altitude above the Air Force Academy each day. Single-engine aircraft, planes ferrying cadet parachutists, tow-planes and...

Continue Reading Academy cadets soar through summer