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...

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August 2, 2021

Cadet research goes expeditionary

By Ashley Murphy August 2, 2021 -- This summer, two cadets completed their Cadet Summer Research Program with Texas A&M University’s Construction Science Department and had their eyes opened to the future of expeditionary engineering. C1Cs Caleb Carnes and Qadry Brown were immersed in the science of providing living and training spaces for the military in an expeditionary or foreign environment, also known as bare base beddown planning. Additionally, they gained skills with BEAR kits and Airfield Pavement Evaluation (APE) tools, techniques, and procedures used by engineers to construct airfields and extended capabilities in austere locations. These training elements support...

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July 30, 2021

Update: AF Academy reopens to public Aug 2

U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force Academy will open to the public August 2, nearly 17 months after closing to all but official business to safeguard its community during the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re excited to welcome the community back to the U.S. Air Force Academy,” said Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, the school’s superintendent. “I’m proud of our Academy team for their incredible work to ensure a safe, successful environment for our cadets, faculty and families. Cadets have been back since last fall and we’ve learned to work in an environment focused...

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July 29, 2021

Newly named Space Force bases to continue partnership with AF Academy

(U. S. Space Force graphic/Staff Sgt. James Richardson Jr.) Story by Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Cadets commissioning into the Space Force after graduating from the Air Force Academy could find themselves at three new Space Force bases in Colorado Springs. Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station is now a Space Force station and Peterson and Schriever are now Space Force bases, the end-result of an Air Force initiative for the burgeoning Space Force to establish its own culture and identity. “Many of our main space missions are conducted at those three locations...

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July 26, 2021

Technology propels military strategy at AF Academy

Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Seth Stang, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs  U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - A $9.5 million project to enhance combat training is slated to be  unveiled at the Air Force Academy by the end of the year. That project, installing a multi domain laboratory in the military and strategic studies department, will provide extra layers of realism to one of the school’s core courses, “air power and joint operations strategy,” said MSS instructor Master Sgt. Bonnie Rushing. “Cadets will gain realistic operational experiences as we combine simulations with our department’s robust curriculum,” she said. When complete, the lab will simulate two flight bays,...

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July 13, 2021

AF Academy’s summer programs take cadets to Florida

From left: Cadets Julia Gundlach and Olivia Orahood, study agar plates for bacteria colonies inside the Air Force Civil Engineer Center Readiness Laboratory at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla, June 29, 2021. The cadets were part of the 2021 U.S. Air Force Academy Summer Research Program May 24 – July 2.  Story and photo by David Ford, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs  TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- After a year-long hiatus due to COVID-19, the U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Summer Program recently returned to the Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s Readiness Laboratory at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The month-long...

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July 13, 2021

Air Force Academy welcomes more than 100 new faculty members

By Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs  U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Scores of newly hired faculty members who completed a week-long orientation course this week can now get down to business: teaching cadets. The course familiarizes professors and instructors with the Academy’s mission, honor code and leader of character framework, said the school’s director of faculty development, Marc Napolitano. “The new faculty orientation workshops promote teaching practices most conducive to cadet learning that best facilitate [cadets’] development into leaders of character,” he said. Napolitano said the orientation for the more-than 100 new faculty members emphasizes evidence-based,...

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July 9, 2021

Update: Academy grad, AOG volunteer receives Distinguished Service Award

By Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs This is an update of a report published Oct. 29, 202] U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A former volunteer faculty member received this year’s Air Force Academy Distinguished Service Award in a ceremony led by Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, July 9. Garry Dudley, a 1968 Academy graduate and retired lieutenant colonel, learned of his selection for the award in August, but restrictions set at the base to curb the coronavirus postponed an official ceremony until now. “Everything in Mr. Dudley’s life has revolved around the Air Force Academy,” Clark said...

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July 8, 2021

Academy expands roster of enlisted faculty members

Master Sgt. Bonnie Rushing is the latest noncommissioned officer to be added to become a member of the school's faculty. (Air Force Academy photo)   By Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force Academy’s latest enlisted faculty member will begin teaching cadets this summer. Master Sgt. Bonnie Rushing from Glen Burnie, Maryland, will teach air power and joint operations in the school’s military and strategic studies department. She began her Air Force career as a language specialist. “Enlisted personnel make up over 80% of our active duty force and, as faculty, we...

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July 7, 2021

Prep School to welcome appointees

(photo/Trevor Cokley) U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Basic training for approximately 237 young men and women appointed to the Air Force Academy Preparatory School begins July 9, 2021. Scores of Prep School appointees are scheduled to arrive for in-processing at 7:30 a.m. The appointees take the oath of enlistment, meet their military trainers, get haircuts and receive military uniforms, among other activities. Basic training at the Prep School is 21 days. The appointees earn the title “cadet candidate” once they graduate from basic training and transition to the academic year. The design of...

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