July 14, 2023

Cadet candidates arrive for Prep School in-processing

More than 225 Class of 2024 cadet candidates arrive for U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School In-processing Day July 7, 2023. The Prep School gives candidates who fell short of admission standards another opportunity to earn a possible Academy appointment after a 10-month program of academic, military, and physical training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Adalyn Greene)  By Randy Roughton  U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications    U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- Mohammad Khaliq II arrived at U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School In-processing Day July 7, 2023, prepared to begin making his dream of one day becoming a U.S....

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June 22, 2023

Cadet team removes assault, harassment reporting barriers

Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent, signs the Encouraged to Report policy memo April 10, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin R. Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Victims of sexual assault at the U.S. Air Force Academy lived under the protection provided by the Safe to Report policy for five years. However, witnesses and victims of less severe crimes had no such protection until a group of legal studies cadets created the Encouraged to Report policy as their capstone project. While Safe to Report protects...

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June 21, 2023

Brig. Gen. Marks takes command of Cadet Wing

Brig. Gen. Gavin Marks accepts command from Brig. Gen. Paul Moga as U.S. Air Force Academy commandant of cadets in a ceremony at Stillman Field June 21, 2023. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Justin Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – As he assumed command of the Cadet Wing, Brig. Gen. Gavin Marks described returning to the U.S. Air Force Academy as “an indescribable honor, deeply personal and uniquely familiar.” Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark presided over the ceremony at Stillman Field where Marks became the Academy’s 31st commandant when he took...

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June 13, 2023

The breakdown: Class of 2023 stats

The most diverse class in U.S. Air Force Academy history, the Class of 2023, graduates June 1, 2023 at Falcon Stadium. Cadets wearing a silver sash are commissioned into the U.S. Space Force and those wearing a gold sash are commissioned into the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - More than 900 Air Force and Space Force cadets graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in a ceremony at Falcon Stadium June 1. In all, 806 Class of 2023 cadets were...

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June 8, 2023

President Biden tells grads to prepare for a changing world

U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2023 graduates toss their hats into the air after their graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium June 1, 2023. The commencement speaker was President Joe Biden. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Trevor Cokley)   By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications  U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - President Joe Biden told U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2023 graduates June 1 that they will soon help change the rapidly changing world that awaits them.  The president said the world is at “an inflection point,” and that the new second lieutenants are ready to face...

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June 8, 2023

Class of 2023 graduate ready to define his path in “family business”

Second Lt. Alfred K. Flowers III receives the oath of office from his grandfather, retired Maj. Gen. Alfred K. Flowers, and his father, Brig. Gen. Alfred K. Flowers Jr. ,at his commissioning ceremony May 31, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- Newly commissioned 2nd Lt. Alfred K. Flowers III’s, who goes by Kendell, most prized graduation gift was a small, rectangular piece of wood resembling what might rest on any officer’s desk. He was gifted the name plate from his father, Brig. Gen. Alfred...

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June 1, 2023

Recent grad looks forward to role in hypersonic research

Second Lt. Nicholas Hawley works on the combustion shock tube, on which he completed much of his experimental hypersonic research. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin R. Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. Early in 2nd Lt. Nicholas Hawley’s first year as a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet, his academic advisor knew he was destined for greatness. What Col. Doug Wickert did not know was the role Hawley would play in the military’s transition to hypersonic aircraft and weapons soon after graduating in June. “There was a clear hint of greatness...

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May 24, 2023

Cadet candidates celebrate Academy Prep School graduation

Cadet candidates wait for their names to be called during the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School graduation May 22, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin R. Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- Two cadet candidates were thinking of more than their impending Academy careers while attending the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School graduation ceremony May 22, 2023. They were also thinking of doing justice to their fathers’ Academy legacies. Appointee Paige Diehl’s father, Maj. David Diehl, a quarterback for the Academy football team who became a C-17 Globemaster...

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May 18, 2023

Scholars unite for war, the Holocaust, human rights discussion

Faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy and University of Texas at Dallas are collaborating on the inaugural War, the Holocaust, and Human Rights Conference, at which speakers will discuss lessons learned from the atrocities of World War II, such as those that took place at the former Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, Oświęcim, Poland, pictured here. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLO.- While differing viewpoints often drive people further apart, members of the U.S. Air Force Academy hope a partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas will unite...

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May 15, 2023

Cadet team conducts robotics research

Cadets and faculty gather in Fairchild Hall to catch a glimpse of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Ghost Robotics Vision 60 robot on campus, Feb. 8, 2023. Cadets, in collaboration with professors from the Academy’s Warfighter Effectiveness Research Center, are gathering data, employing model-based systems engineering concepts and developing solutions to determine the practicality of integrating robots into base defense missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Tech. Sgt. Zach Vaughn U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – A team of professors and cadets with the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Warfighter Effectiveness Research...

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