November 4, 2021

How a group of Academy grads are providing humanitarian relief after Afghanistan

Major Jessica Gronert, USAFA Class of 2009, in Jerash, Jordan. Photo courtesy Maj Jessica Gronert. By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications The sudden abruptness of the Afghanistan withdrawal left so many American and coalition veterans with what could only be described as an all-encompassing gamut of human emotion. For who bore the sword that delivered the blow? The little boy and little girl, who grew up having seen two towers in a once-boundless American sky, crumble mercilessly to the ground. The young man and woman with pimples on their cheeks and fire in their eyes, saying “send me!”  Going--maybe not with...

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October 18, 2021

‘A Republic, if you can keep it’: Assembly panels advance discourse on civilian-military relations, future challenges

Colonel Suzanne Nielsen, a political science professor at West Point, speaks at a panel discussion during the U.S. Air Force Academy's Assembly, Oct. 13, 2021. The topic of the discussion was "The Profession of Arms and the Preservation of Democratic Norms." By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications, photos by Trevor Cokley. The sociopolitical fallout from a global pandemic and the increasing polarization of American culture underpinned the expert panel discussions at the Air Force Academy’s 63rd annual Assembly. The cadet-planned assembly, held 12-14 October, commenced with the theme “The City on the Hill,” bringing to light the contemporary challenges of democracy...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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