February 28, 2020

Shining a light on the forgotten story of Fortune Wright

(Masozera with a statue of Frederick Douglass) By Cadet 1st Class Manzi Masozera My family is from Rwanda and Uganda, and I’m a first generation American. I’m also a senior at the Air Force Academy. I chose to major in English because speaking and writing skills are key to being an effective leader; however, I soon realized literature pondered the human condition and grappled with topics like prejudice and inequality. During the summer of my junior year, I conducted research at the National Archives in Washington D.C. where I found the amazing story of Fortune Wright, a soldier, who served...

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February 16, 2020

Academy, NHL release statement on NHL Stadium Series game

A near-capacity crowd takes their seats prior to the ceremonial puck drop during the NHL Stadium Series game Feb. 15, 2020, at the Air Force Academy, Colo. Air Force Academy Public Affairs, Feb. 16, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.-- Multiple efforts were made by the NHL and Air Force Academy to warn attendees about potential traffic delays getting to the sold out Stadium Series game yesterday. In addition to website and social media posts, and signage along the I-25 corridor in the week leading up to the game, the NHL alerted the more than 43,000 fans who had purchased...

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February 10, 2020

USAFA renews commitment to preserve more-than 16,000 acres of natural open land

Staff report, Feb, 10, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The top officer at the Air Force Academy signed a plan pledging to preserve a 16,494-acre expanse of land at the base. Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the Academy superintendent, signed the new master plan that governs facility development at the base in late August. That plan includes a commitment to restrict future development to approximately 89 percent of the installation’s natural areas and open space. “The Air Force Academy is a very special place in our nation’s history and we want to ensure it remains that way for decades...

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February 10, 2020

Special ops pilot, astronaut receive 2019 Jabara Award

Left to right: Maj. Caitlin Reilly and Col. Nick Hague are applauded by U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria (right) and the Cadet Wing during the Jabara Award presentation ceremony at the Staff Tower in Mitchell Hall, Feb. 7, 2020. Hague, a 1998 Academy graduate, is an astronaut. Reilly, a 2007 Academy graduate, is a special operations pilot.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Trang Le) By Ray Bowden, Feb. 10, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The 2019 Colonel James Jabara Award went to Col. Nick Hague and Maj. Caitlin Reilly in a ceremony at the staff tower in...

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February 5, 2020

Landeskog takes off at Air Force Academy for Avalanche game against Kings

Story and photos by Nicholas J. Cotsonika @cotsonika / NHL.com Columnist AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Gabriel Landeskog is used to flying up the wing as a forward for the Colorado Avalanche. But flying an F-22? A single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter plane capable of going twice the speed of sound? "Is it going to make me nauseous?" Landeskog asks. "I don't know," says Matt Pulver, a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy and the captain of the Air Force men's hockey team. It's Jan. 13, and Landeskog is pretending to be a cadet for a day ahead of the 2020 Navy Federal...

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February 4, 2020

England native ups Academy planetarium’s STEM center to next level

The Air Force Academy’s planetarium project manager grew up in Ashtead, Surrey, a village 25 miles southwest of London. Her father was an art director and her mother ran the home. She loved learning and channeled her father’s drive to succeed. At 10-years-old, following her father’s death, she applied to a prestigious all-girls private school where she earned a full scholarship. Now, she could make her father proud. Judy Cara may have grown up in England, but a young Marine serving at the embassy, where they both worked, stole her heart and they moved to the U.S. She now lives just...

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January 29, 2020

Academy brings back MTIs as CW refocuses on training fundamentals

Story by Jennifer Spradlin, Jan. 29, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – For the first time in a decade, the Academy will have permanent military training instructors on the Cadet Wing staff to enhance the military training program here. “I want this to be the nation’s most disciplined, professional and future-focused military training organization,” said Brig. Gen. Michele Edmondson, commandant of cadets. In 2004, the Academy created the Academy Military Trainer program. The role of AMTs quickly evolved into a mentorship and leadership support function to squadron air officers commanding. After 2009, when the last MTI transitioned from the...

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January 28, 2020

USAFA Prep School inducts Shell 77 pilot, Capt. ‘Tori’ Pinckney, as 2020 Exemplar

Michelle and Larry Castro help Col. Timothy Thurston unveil the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School’s 2020 Exemplar in honor of the late Capt. Victoria A. “Tori” Pinckney in the Falcon Club at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., Jan. 24, 2020. Cadet candidates selected Pinckney because she was a leader of the people and always valued service before self. The Castros are Pinckney’s parents and Thurston serves as the Prep School commander. (Photo by Trevor Cokley) By Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton, Jan. 28, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadet candidates with the Air Force Preparatory School inducted...

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January 24, 2020

Academy cadets make playoffs at national moot court competition

From left: Maj. Kenneth Hyle, U.S. Air Force Academy Cadets  Matthew Pryor, Caitlin Bitting, Moira Casey, Noah Jensen, Aryemis Brown, Abbigayle Weaver and Maj. Wolfgang Weber pose for a group photo. Hyle and Weber are assistant law professors at the Academy and coaches for the Academy's Moot Court Team. The cadets seen here are on the Moot Court Team. (Courtesy photo) By Ray Bowden, Jan. 24, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadets at the Air Force Academy represented the university at a national-level collegiate court competition Jan. 17-18, making it deep into the tournament before eventually standing aside...

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January 23, 2020

Moving beyond a mistake: Academy cadet mentors troubled teens in his hometown

Story by Jennifer Spradlin, Jan. 25, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Cadet 2nd Class Prince Njoku believes in second chances. Over winter break, the Academy cadet spent time mentoring middle and high schoolers at the Fort Bend Juvenile Facility in Richmond, Texas. The facility houses juveniles awaiting court appearances for a wide range of illegal behavior from theft to assault. “Humility is so key, I think, to being a good leader, and I felt that I could learn as much from these kids as they learned from me,” he said. Njoku is the first to admit he’s not...

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