November 9, 2020

Training Turnaround – MTIs join USAFA team in effort to better prepare future military leaders

by Jeff Holmquist, Association of Graduates When Brig. Gen. Michele Edmondson assumed the role of United States Air Force Academy commandant of cadets in the summer of 2019, she arrived just in time to witness Basic Cadet Training for the incoming Class of 2023. She appreciated some of the training techniques and tactics of upperclass cadre — handed down from one class to another for years — which contributed to what many felt was the heritage of the institution. However, with Brig. Gen. Edmondson’s steep military training background and experience, she was excited to evolve training and parallel it to...

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November 3, 2020

AF Academy’s energy conservation saves tax dollars

By Ray Bowden, Nov. 3, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy saved taxpayers more than $1 million by clamping down on energy use at the 18,000-acre installation. The school’s energy bill for the 2020 fiscal year was $5.5 million, a more-than $1 million drop from its $6.7 million energy bill for the fiscal year 2019. Daniela Lawrence, the Academy’s facility planning and sustainability manager, said that decrease comes on the heels of measures taken to protect cadets and staff when the coronavirus pandemic began to spread across the U.S. earlier this year. “We saw a...

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November 2, 2020

2018 Academy grad shares MMIII test launch experience with mother

1st Lt. Taylor Tonnies, 742nd Missile Squadron operator, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brittany Murphy) Story by Capt. Leva Bytautaite, 20th Air Force Public Affairs, Nov. 2, 2020 F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. (AFNS) -- In the early morning of June 8, 1994, then-1st Lt. Linda Tonnies, 740th Missile Squadron operator, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, turned the launch key to launch an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM for Glory Trip 155 at Vandenberg AFB, California. Little did she know that 26 years later, her daughter 1st. Lt. Taylor Tonnies, 742nd Missile Squadron operator, Minot AFB, would do the same....

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October 29, 2020

Distinguished Service Award goes to Academy graduate, AOG volunteer

U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs, Oct. 29, 2020  U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A former volunteer faculty member will receive the school’s Distinguished Service Award later this year. Garry Dudley, a 1968 Academy graduate, is scheduled to receive the award in a ceremony later this year but the date of that event has not yet been announced. Dudley was notified of his selection for the award in an August letter from former Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria. “This award is given to an individual or group that has contributed significantly and directly to the morale or well-being...

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October 28, 2020

A clear barrier to COVID-19: Academy installs Plexiglass shields across campus

All photos by Josh Armstrong Story by Ray Bowden, Oct. 28, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Plexiglass barriers have been installed in classrooms across the Air Force Academy to help shield cadets and faculty from the coronavirus. In all, 800 Plexiglass shields have been mounted in classrooms and common areas across the campus since July. “The dean of the faculty and the Academy at-large bought a significant amount of materiel to make sure Fairchild Hall was safe for cadets and faculty,” said Chief Master Sgt. Sean Milligan, the dean of faculty’s senior enlisted manager. "The health and safety of...

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October 27, 2020

New position helps Academy prepare for all things space

By Ashley D. Murphy, Strategic Communications As the U.S. Air Force Academy establishes itself as the premier commissioning source to the U.S. Space Force (USSF), they have created a position to motivate, inform, influence, inspire, and assess cadets into the newest branch of the U.S armed forces. Colonel Jeffrey Greenwood, Air Force Academy Space Force Liaison, explains his role is to focus on all things “space” and to help stand up a new Space Force detachment at the Academy. “Space encompasses more than just a couple departments,” he said. “Integrating space across all mission elements and all offices is critical...

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October 23, 2020

Academy to host 12th Annual SoTL Forum

Story by Jennifer Spradlin, photo by Sarah Goldblum, Oct. 23, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy will host its 12th Annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Forum virtually, Oct. 27 and 29. SoTL uses a systematic research approach to understanding teaching and learning to improve student’s academic outcomes. For example, instructors might examine the impact of adding technology to the classroom or the implementation of team-based learning. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Jeff Karpicke, a renowned cognitive psychologist from Purdue University who has researched learning and memory in laboratory settings. Results from his lab illustrate the...

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October 21, 2020

‘A team effort’: Academy’s History Office takes home top awards

Story by Ray Bowden, photo by Trevor Cokley, Oct. 21, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy’s History Office earned two high-level awards earlier this month: the Excellence in History Program Award and the Air Force Heritage Award. The Excellence in History Program Award recognizes the best history programs in the Air Force, and the Air Force Heritage Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments by Air Force History and Museums Program personnel. “Receiving these awards was truly a team effort,” said Dr. Charles Dusch, the school’s command historian and director. “Every member of our history office, our museums specialist,...

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October 16, 2020

Flying team builds character through dynamic competition

by Ashley D. Murphy, Strategic Communications The Air Force Academy Precision Flying Team exists to create officers and pilots of character through flying training and competition at the national level. This highly select team of 28 cadets competes in multiple National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) competitions throughout the year, flying either a T-51 or T-41 aircraft. This dynamic training and competition helps prepare them for the rigors of active-duty military aviation. “The USAFA Precision Flying Team is a unique program that allows cadets who make the team to train and fly in a way that prepares them extremely well for...

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October 14, 2020

Academy firefighters respond to Wild Horse fire at Fort Carson

Story by Ray Bowden, Oct. 14, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Firefighters at the Air Force Academy were among several agencies to respond to a wildfire burning on Fort Carson that blackened hundreds of acres, Oct. 13. The Wild Horse Fire still burned Tuesday near Highway 115 south of Fort Carson's Gate 6, but no structures or personnel were in danger, according to a Fort Carson News release. Six firefighters assigned to the Academy’s 10th Civil Engineering Squadron responded to Fort Carson on Sunday to work with other agencies to keep the fire from crossing Highway 115, and provided...

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