July 19, 2019

AF Academy professor, astronaut reflects on space program, Apollo 11 mission

By Jennifer Spradlin, July 19, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- What does the Air Force Academy have to do with man’s first flight to the moon? A lot, actually, if you ask Gary Payton, a NASA astronaut and distinguished visiting astronautics professor at the Academy. “We’re preparing cadets for a space domain that has transitioned from a sanctuary – pretty much since the Apollo era – to what is now considered a warfighting arena,” he said. He’s right. In 2019 alone, two cadet-designed satellites are slated to join a collection of U.S. space assets. FalconSAT-8 will carry a new...

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July 18, 2019

Operations Air Force: Cadets volunteer at equine therapy center

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadets Zack LaRocque, left, and Evan Place, dig post holes to place a sign at the Therapeutic Riding Institute. LaRocque, Place and 18 other cadets traveled to Spring Valley, Ohio, July 6, to volunteer with the institute. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Van Winkle) By John Van Winkle, 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, July 18, 2019 SPRING VALLEY, Ohio – Twenty Air Force Academy cadets hit the farm July 6, helping the Therapeutic Riding Institute prepare its new Spring Valley location for operations. The cadets were visiting Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as part of an Academy immersion...

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July 17, 2019

Feature story: AF Academy cadets take educational journey to Normandy, pay tribute to D-Day

(Courtesy photo) By Ray Bowden, July 17, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadets from the Air Force Academy spent two weeks of their summer break near the beach, but it probably wasn’t the shoreline you’d expect. They went to Normandy, France, to pay their respects to the 160,000 allied troops who crossed the English Channel on D-Day, June 6, 1944, to begin clawing-back Europe from Nazi control. The two-week academic journey took the cadets and some of their faculty to Normandy where the allied campaign, Operation Overlord, occurred. The group also participated in the D-Day 75th Anniversary memorial...

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July 16, 2019

Defense Digital Service team visits Academy to observe security clearance processes

[caption id="attachment_23063" align="alignnone" width="648"] (Photo/Trevor Cokley)[/caption]   By Jennifer Spradlin, July 6, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Defense Digital Service team visited the Academy last week to observe how new cadets completed an electronic questionnaire necessary to attain security clearances. The team’s goal: eliminate redundancies across multiple agencies and build a new software prototype to improve the user experience. “We have a 1-to-2 percent margin of error in our applications, which is pretty phenomenal for this kind of effort,” said Dr. Gayle Blue-Keyes, Academy director of information protection. Each summer, more than 1,000 new cadets fill out...

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July 15, 2019

AF Academy to celebrate 50th Anniversary of Lunar Landing

U.S. Air Force Academy -- (U.S. Air Force photo/Trevor Cokley) By Judith Cara, July 15, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.-- Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted away from Earth on a Saturn V rocket on July 16, 1969. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin set foot on the moon, the first humans to do so. The three returned to Earth on July 24. Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing are planned around the world. Whether you remember that day or have experienced it only through videos and stories, visit the Air Force...

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July 12, 2019

Field Day: Basic cadets at AF Academy compete in annual athletic team-building challenge

(Photo by Darcie Ibidapo) By Ray Bowden, July 12, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- “You  OK? You’re good, right?” a basic cadet asked a classmate as he breathed hard, clutching a chain-link fence for support. Moments earlier, the pair sprinted over the finish line of a long distance run, one of several challenges July 12 during Field Day. The annual event at the Air Force Academy marks the halfway point of Basic Cadet Training. “Competing together builds cohesion,” said Cadet 2nd Class Krisanna Reynolds. “The basic cadets get to talk to each other and get to know one another,...

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July 10, 2019

AF Academy cadets teach their vice superintendent how to freefall

Third from right: Col. Houston Cantwell, vice superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, poses for a photograph at the U.S. Air Force Academy with a cadet instructor (fifth from right) and his Airmanship 490 cadet classmates, July 2019. (All photos courtesy of the 98th Flying Training Squadron) Commentary by Col. Houston Cantwell, U.S. Air Force Academy vice superintendent, July 10, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  "Stand in the door!” Never before had four words caused such extreme personal anxiety. Circling above the Air Force Academy in the back of our trusty Twin Otter aircraft at 4,500 feet,...

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July 8, 2019

AF Academy, Air Education and Training Command host technology-infused basic aviation skills training

Story and photos by Jennifer Spradlin, July 8, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Colorado Springs high school students and recent Air Force Academy graduates are flying together -- in the classroom -- thanks to training devices that simulate the T-6 Texan II training aircraft. The Academy is hosting high school summer training sessions in partnership with Air Education and Training Command to explore the benefits of exposing students to basic aviation skills using virtual reality technology. “Advances in technology have led us to really consider how we train potential pilots -- is there a better way? We think there...

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July 7, 2019

Remains positively identified as missing cadet candidate

Larimer County officials have positively identified the remains recovered in Rocky Mountain National Park Friday as those of U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Candidate Micah Tice. Tice, 20, was last seen alive on the trail by other hikers Nov. 24, 2018, prior to a severe weather system moving into the area. His vehicle was located by the National Park Service Nov. 26. Rescue attempts led by the National Park Service, volunteers and a team from the Academy’s Mountaineering Club, were hampered by extreme winds, bitter temperatures and deep snow as they conducted searches at elevations greater than 10,000 ft. “I...

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July 3, 2019

‘An exchange of ideas’: 306th FTG instructors visit French air force academy

Capt. Gabriel Paterson, flight commander for the U.S. Air Force Academy Flying Team, and Lt. Col. Abby Frander (right), commander of the 98 Flying Training Squadron at the Academy,  stand near a Cirrus SR22 aircraft with a pilot from the Ecole de l'Air -- the French air force academy.  Cadre from the 306th Flying Training Group traveled to France in June to visit their French counterparts and share information about airfield operations and the Academy's Airmanship Programs (Courtesy photo). By Jennifer Spradlin, June 3, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Instructors from the 306th Flying Training Group traveled to France...

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