NCLS is a two day symposium in which participants have an opportunity to hear from speakers sharing inspirational stories of character and leadership with the audience through his/her own words. It is one of the premier national symposiums in the area of character development, bringing together distinguished scholars, military leaders, corporate executives and world-class athletes to explore various dimensions of character and leadership. Speakers share their life experiences in order to challenge the audience to become more effective leaders of character. NCLS is a personal development symposium.

NCLS is open to anyone. This includes, but is not limited to, Undergraduate Students, Visiting Faculty members, community participants, military academy graduates, Association of Graduates members, USAFA staff and faculty, out of state military members, local military/ DoD ID Card Holders, and federal, state, county, and city government employees.

You will hear from distinguished scholars, military leaders, corporate presidents, world-class athletes, and others in order to explore a character-related theme. The speakers will share their life experiences, challenges, and triumphs in alignment with the NCLS year-long theme, reinforcing the Air Force Core Values, encouraging reflection, and motivation for personal action.

Registration for NCLS is scheduled to open in October for Visiting Students and Faculty and in January for all other participants. Once registration is open, an email invitation will be sent to our previous participants and a “Registration” button will be available on our website. Please visit the Deadlines and Fees page for specific dates or email us at ncls@afacademy.af.edu with questions.

On the NCLS registration landing page, click the button that describes you.

Visiting Student
• You are a student at a college or university between ages 18-26. As part of this registration type, lodging and meals will be provided on base in the cadet facilities.
Visiting Faculty
• You are a college or university faculty or staff member attending NCLS with students
• You are an academic educator attending without students
Community Participant
• You are a college or university student over age 26
• You are an Air Force Academy alum or Association of Graduates member
• You are a member of the local community with no military affiliation
• You are local or non-local area military, not assigned to USAFA
USAFA
• You are a cadet, staff or faculty, military or civilian assigned to any USAFA organization

In order to complete your registration in a timely manner, please select “Other” to proceed. Our NCLS registration team will update both your individual registration and our list of visiting universities.

If your school already has four students confirmed, we can place students on a waiting list. Should a spot become available, students will be notified on a first come first served basis, after December 6. Once all the registration requirements have been met, the registration status will change from “pending” to “confirmed.” If you wish to be placed on the waiting list, please have your faculty sponsor email NCLS@afacademy.af.edu with your name, email address and college/university.

Speaker sessions will open for registration on January 3rd. Typically, each NCLS speaker is scheduled to present multiple times over the course of the two days; however, a few of our speakers may only speak once due to schedule limitations. Speakers are scheduled for various sessions throughout the event, some large and some small. The speaker you are looking for may be scheduled for a smaller session, which may already be full. If that is the case, that specific speaker session will no longer be visible as a registration selection.

While a guest may certainly attend with you, Visiting Faculty, Visiting Students, and USAFA Cadets and Faculty will require individual registrations. All other categories of attendees will be able to register a guest within the same registration profile. Your guest will receive a separate confirmation email with their registration.

Yes, please click the “virtual” button on the registration page. You will receive access to to live and on-demand virtual content the week of NCLS via the virtual event platform, which may be accessed using the email address you register with. Please note that not all sessions offered in-person may be offered virtually.

Check-in and badge pick-up for Visiting Students, Visiting Faculty, and Community Participants will be available in Falcon Club according to the following schedule:
Wednesday, February 21^st from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Thursday, February 22^nd from 6:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Friday, February 23^rd from 6:30 a.m.-12:00 pm
*Please note that USAFA Permanent Party members are not required to check-in at Falcon Club and will not be issued badges.

For the Cadet Wing and Guests:

Wednesday, Feb 21: OCPs (equivalent utility uniforms)

Thursday, Feb 22: OCPs / Blues and Service Dress required for Symposium Dinner

Friday, Feb 23: OCPs

Civilians: Business Casual for speaker sessions and Formal for Symposium Dinner

Transportation from Colorado Springs Airport (COS) will be available on Wednesday, February 21^st. Shuttles will depart the airport for the Academy every 1.5 hours beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding at 10 p.m. Arriving participants who indicate they require transportation to the Academy can find shuttle personnel outside the COS baggage claim area.

On Saturday, February 24^th, shuttles will again be available to transport participants from the Academy to the COS. Saturday shuttles will depart the Cadet Area for the Falcon Club at 4 a.m., 6 a.m., 8 a.m., and 10:30 a.m. They will depart the Falcon Club at 4:15 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 8:15 a.m., and 10:45 a.m. respectively and arrive at the COS approximately 45 minutes later.

Shuttles will not run to or from COS on Thursday, February 22^nd, or Friday, February 23^rd. Transportation will not be provided to or from Denver International Airport (DIA) or other locations. Participants will be required to coordinate their own travel arrangements to or from DIA or other locations.

• Undergraduate Students (age 18 – 26) will be housed at no cost in the Air Force Academy Cadet Dormitories. Visiting students will be assigned a cadet escort and will room with that cadet in the cadet dormitories. The two Academy dorms, Vandenberg and Sijan Hall, are co-ed dorms with shower facilities on each floor. While dormitories are co-ed, individual rooms and shower facilities are not. Rooms have either two or three residents.
• Faculty and Guest: Visiting faculty and guests may stay on the USAFA campus at the Rampart Lodge pending availability. Alternative lodging is available at other surrounding accommodations.

The mission of the Center for Character and Leadership Development is “To serve USAFA by advancing character and leadership development in preparation for service to the nation.” These words encompass the broad range of activities for which the CCLD is responsible, with a singular focus of advancing character and leadership development. The Academy’s strategic goal #1 is to develop leaders of character in service to our nation. The CCLD is the primary integrator of character and leadership development for USAFA.

Our vision is “To be the center of excellence for character and leadership development.” This vision statement points to our ultimate destination as a Center. Our efforts directly impact the development of leaders of character – not just officers – who walk across a graduation stage and into our Air and Space Forces to lead us in the face of a dynamic environment. With intentionality, we also help shape the leader-developers who influence and inspire those future leaders by preparing them to live honorably, lift others and elevate performance. We deliberately collaborate with external agencies and institutions to share and adopt best practices to accomplish our noble and high purpose in support of our nation. In short, we deeply and tangibly infuse character and leadership across the institution and beyond.

Learn more about how we develop leaders of character for the 21st century.

Please click here to access archived NCLS information – including video-on-demand playlists, photo galleries, programs, and testimonials – from past events.

COVID-19: In accordance with DoD and Air Force policy, attendees (including military personnel, civilian employees, contractors, visiting students, and guests) are NOT required to verify vaccination status or provide a negative test. If the CDC COVID-19 Community Level is medium during NCLS, social distancing measures may be required and if CDC COVID-19 Community Level is high during NCLS, attendees will be required to wear masks while indoors and on buses.