May 29, 2019

Grad Week Feature: Academy cadet, naturalized citizen one step closer to aviation dream

Cadet 1st Class Rodrigo Orellana (center, blue beret), was born in Honduras. He's scheduled to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy May 30, 2019 and later attend pilot training school. (Courtesy photo) By Jennifer Spradlin, May 29, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Rodrigo Orellana, an Air Force Academy senior, knew as a boy he wanted to fly. He was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, the densely-packed capital of Honduras, a Central American country as beautiful as it is poor. It was, by his account, a country with generous people who had little but shared everything, and a...

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May 29, 2019

Grad Week Commentary: Defining leaders of character at the 306th Flying Training Group

(U.S. Air Force photo) By Col. Joel DeBoer, 306th Flying Training Group commander, and Maj. Daniel Castle, 306th FTG executive officer U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The goal of the 306th is not solely to produce jumpers or pilots, but officers and leaders of character. We do that extremely well. When grads are asked what aspect of the Air Force Academy influenced their character the most, they say one thing: “the airfield.” Like steel, character is forged through a process of continual refinement, which includes overcoming fear, adversity and doubt. Our Airmanship programs at the Academy develop and forge character...

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May 28, 2019

Brig Gen. Michele Edmondson to assume command of cadet wing May 31

Brig. Gen. Michele Edmondson (U.S. Air Force photo) Staff reports, May 28, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Brig. Gen. Michele Edmondson will assume command of the cadet wing at the Air Force Academy, 9 a.m., May 31 near the class wall on the Terrazzo. As commandant, Edmondson will command the 4,000-member Cadet Wing and more than 200 Air Force and civilian personnel. Her responsibilities will include character and leadership development, military training, supervising cadet life activities, and providing facility and logistical support to all cadets. Edmondson has a background in space operations and acquisitions, and comes to the Academy...

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May 28, 2019

Grad Week Feature: Cadet’s resiliency helps in battle against cancer

Cadet 1st Class Parker Hammond spends time with his mother, Jennifer Hammond, at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Colorado Springs. Hammond was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, but is slated to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy, May 30, 2019. (Courtesy photo) Story by Jennifer Spradlin, May 28, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Parker Hammond was in the best shape of his life. The Air Force Academy cadet had recently completed a challenging global obstacle race and rebounded after a string of sports injuries ended his Falcon football career. But cancer doesn’t discriminate. During his junior...

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May 28, 2019

Grad Week Feature: Military and Strategic Studies at Air Force Academy put cadets at ‘tip of the spear’

(U.S. Air Force photo/Dave Ahlschwede)  By Ray Bowden, May 28, 21019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- All those Air Force Academy graduates flying combat missions overseas? If they’re under 30, they were all students in a military and strategic studies class. It’s not just pilots who say they’ve benefited from these studies -- its officers in more than 150 career fields across the Air Force. “The Academy’s Military and Strategic Studies department educates future Air Force officers in concepts of military strategy, contemporary operations and the integration of air, space and cyberspace power,” said Dr. John Farquhar, an Associate Professor...

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May 24, 2019

Air Force Academy to host Class of ’19 graduation parade May 29

Staff report, May 24, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The U.S. Air Force Academy’s Class of 2019 Graduation Parade is scheduled for May 29 at Stillman Parade Field. Pre-parade events begin at 7:55 a.m. when various aerial events take place. This will be the last parade for the Class of 2019 as they turn over leadership of the Cadet Wing to the Class of 2020. Events are free, open to the public, and tickets are not required. Seating is first-come, first-served. Visitors should enter the Academy through the Academy’s North Gate, at Exit 156 off I-25. Visitors are advised to...

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May 24, 2019

‘War Costs People’: Vietnam Vet, Academy grad honors classmates killed in action

(Graphic courtesy of Andrew Biancur) Story by Jennifer Spradlin, May 24, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.  -- Every year on Memorial Day, Andrew Biancur and his wife visit the Air Force Academy Cemetery. He holds a bucket full of soapy water while his wife kneels and cleans each gravestone from the graduating class of 1960. She never lets him help, although he’s often offered, because she says he’s done his part. Biancur is the first Academy graduate to see combat in Vietnam. Once the stones are cleaned, the two leave flowers for each man and head home, but Biancur’s effort...

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May 23, 2019

Schulte Award marks decade since namesake, Academy graduate killed in Afghanistan

Commentary by the Center for Character and Leadership Development staff U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- On May 20, 2009, 1st Lt. Roslyn ‘Roz’ Littmann Schulte became the first female Air Force Academy graduate to be killed in action in the war on terror. Lieutenant Schulte and Shawn Montgomery Pine, a contractor and retired Army lieutenant colonel, were killed when their convoy was hit by a improvised explosive device. In honor of their daughter’s sacrifice and legacy, Schulte's parents Bob and Susie Schulte have made a trip to the Air Force Academy every May since 2010 to recognize an outstanding cadet...

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May 23, 2019

‘Remember the guardians of the past’: Top Air Force officials release Memorial Day letter to Airmen

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, May 23, 2019 WASHINGTON -- One-hundred-fifty-one years ago, citizens gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to honor Civil War soldiers as part of the inaugural Decoration Day. Today, the citizenry of this great nation know this observance as Memorial Day. We actively reflect on the sacrifice made by our Airmen, Coast Guards, Marines, sailors and soldiers who gave their last full measure of devotion for our liberty. As we remember the guardians of our past, we also express deep gratitude to the 685,000 military and civilian Airmen embodying integrity, service before self and excellence, that...

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May 22, 2019

Academy Prep School celebrates graduation of 180 cadet candidates

(U.S. Air Force photo/Trevor Cokley) Story by Tech. Sgt. Charles Rivezzo, May 22, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – An auditorium filled with families, friends and faculty celebrated the graduation of 180 Air Force Academy Preparatory School cadet candidates May 20. The ceremony marked the successful completion of the Prep School’s 10-month curriculum. 235 cadet candidates were admitted into the Prep School for the 2018-2019 academic year. Of the graduates, 176 received appointments to the Academy and are scheduled to report for Basic Cadet Training in June. Addressing the audience, Preparatory School commander, Col. Timothy W Thurston II, quoted...

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