AF Academy’s Class of 2024 begins Basic Cadet Training

Story by Ray Bowden, photos by Josh Armstrong and Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Stratton, June 25, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed how more than 1,100 young men and women arrived at the Air Force Academy and began Basic Cadet Training June 25, but the school’s top officer is confident the precautions will pay off. Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the Academy’s superintendent, said while the coronavirus has presented challenges to the Academy, there are strict plans in place to protect the basic trainees and the school’s staff and families. “We are dedicated to keeping...

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AF Academy remembers 2017 graduate, pilot ‘Kage’ Allen

Story by Ray Bowden, June 19, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy graduate who died earlier this week when his fighter jet crashed into the North Sea is remembered for his smile and love for people. First Lt. Kenneth Allen, 27, was assigned to the 493rd Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath’s 48th Fighter Wing, England, when his F-15C fighter jet went down off the East Yorkshire coast, June 15. Allen was from Perry, Utah. He left the Academy in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering and went on to pilot training...

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‘Why limit yourself?’: Cadet combines majors to make Shakespeare more accessible

Ray Bowden, June 8, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A cadet’s project has the potential to benefit next year’s crop of English students as they wade through the works of William Shakespeare. Cadet 2nd Class Brynn Sulte, a computer science and English major, created a database to help other students at the Air Force Academy analyze more than 150 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet. “The goal is to make this database available in a classroom setting and develop it more broadly for research,” she said. Daniel Couch, an English professor at the school, said Sulte’s...

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Academy announces new data science major

By Jennifer Spradlin, June 5, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Data + analysis = command decision. This simple equation can be applied to most modern military action and shows how one element must be in concert with the other to create the right sight picture for commanders. “It’s not enough to have more data than our adversaries. It’s how we understand the information and use it at the speed of relevance that matters,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. To better prepare future officers in the Air and Space forces, the Academy has created a data science...

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Getting a ‘space sense’: Academy adds space warfighting class for cadets

Story by Ray Bowden, photo by Trevor Cokely, June 6, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadets at the Air Force Academy will see a new minor added to their academic schedules: space warfighting. The Academy Board approved the addition of a mandatory space warfighting minor earlier this month, starting with the class of 2023. The board determines educational policies at the school under Air Force and Defense Department guidelines. “It’s exciting that the Academy has a leading role in educating Space Force officers and that we’re the first commissioning source to commission those officers,” said Academy board adviser...

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Update: AF Academy extends public health emergency, continues to reopen

Story by Ray Bowden, May 29, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy prolonged its public health emergency until Aug. 18. Originally slated to expire May 23, the base extended its public health emergency based on information from the Defense Department and State of Colorado, according to the school’s superintendent, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria. “As we slowly open back up, we need to reanalyze our risk and make smart and safe decisions,” he said. The base first declared a public health emergency March 23 due to the COVID-19 threat, and elevated the Academy's health protection condition...

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United Launch Alliance launches 6th orbital test vehicle for U.S. Space Force; project contains satellite built by Air Force Academy cadets

United launch Alliance, May 18, 2020 CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. -- A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 501 rocket carrying the USSF-7 mission for the U.S. Space Force lifted off from Cape Canaveral May 17. This marks the 84th successful launch of an Atlas V rocket, 139th launch for ULA, the second launch for the U.S. Space Force and sixth flight of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle or “OTV-6.” “The success of this mission resulted from collaboration with our customer while working through challenging, and ever changing, health and safety conditions,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government...

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‘I-Day’ Update: Academy preps for arrival of class of 2024

By Ray Bowden, May 18, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Air Force Academy’s superintendent announced May 7 that the school is preparing for the June arrival of its next class of cadets. “We’re establishing quarantine guidance, testing, and restriction of movement policies that mirror the guidelines and policies of the Defense Department and State of Colorado,” said Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the Academy’s superintendent. Brig. Gen. Michele Edmondson, commandant of cadets, said despite the coronavirus outbreak posing more than a few challenges to the school and U.S. military at large, the Academy’s military and academic training continues....

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English Professor Lt Col David Buchanan wins McDermott Award for Research Excellence

Continue Reading English Professor Lt Col David Buchanan wins McDermott Award for Research Excellence

Air Force Academy satellite to launch aboard X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle

U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs, May 6, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A satellite built by Air Force Academy cadets will launch into space May 16 aboard the X-37B, Orbital Test Vehicle sponsored by the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and built by Boeing. This is the first time a satellite built and designed by cadets will catch a ride into space aboard the X-37B. (See the May 6 report from the Secretary of the Air Force about the launch here: https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/2177702/next-x-37b-orbital-test-vehicle-scheduled-to-launch) Lt. Col. Dan Showalter, assistant astronautics professor at the Academy, said “as novel as this...

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