July 30, 2024

Class of 2028 complete Second Basic Cadet Training

Class of 2028 basic cadets clear the last wall of the Assault Course during expeditionary skills training at Jacks Valley July 16, 2024. They marched back to the Cadet Wing July 26, 2024 alongside alumni. (U.S. Air Force photo by Dylan Smith) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The Class of 2028 marched 5.2 miles back from Jacks Valley expeditionary skills training July 26 a month after they arrived on In-processing Day. Approximately 1,100 basic cadets will complete Basic Cadet Training next week, a giant step toward their goal of becoming...

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July 25, 2024

Azimuth space program integrated into Special Warfare Orientation

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 3rd Class Dexter James, left, ROTC Cadets Margaret Rongaus and Elijah Barker, Delta 13, Detachment 1 Commander Col. Marc Sands, Cadet 3rd Class Kento Yamamoto, and ROTC Cadet Dudley Mayard listen to a U.S. Space Force Guardian briefing on TUSK Satellite capabilities during the Azimuth and Special Warfare Orientation Course joint exercise June 21, 2024. For the first time in its three-year history at the U.S. Air Force Academy, participants integrated with their peers in the Special Warfare Orientation Course in a simulated joint operation exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco) By Randy...

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July 24, 2024

Grads made their impact on Olympic Games

Alonzo Babers, U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 1983, won two gold medals for U.S. Track and Field in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Here, Babers poses at an overlook above the Academy during a photo shoot after his Olympic performance. (Photo courtesy of Airman magazine, January 1985) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Every four years when the Olympic Games are held, graduates Alonzo Babers and Kathy (Callaghan) Rex reflect on their Olympic experience. Both represented the United States at the Olympics after they graduated from the...

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July 15, 2024

The in-processing breakdown: Class of 2028, by the numbers

Class of 2028 basic cadets march on the Terrazzo July 2, 2024. The class’s ethnic and racial percentage equals the Class of 2026 rate as the most diverse class in U.S. Air Force Academy history. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Ethnic and racial minorities comprise 38% of the Class of 2028, making it one of the top two diverse classes in U.S. Air Force Academy history. Two years ago, the Class of 2026 also arrived with the same ethnic and racial percentage. Class...

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June 28, 2024

Award-winning professor employs novel teaching methods

Cadets learn using a 3D model developed by Dr. Shelby Stanhope, a Mathematical Sciences associate professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (Courtesy photo.) By Katherine Spessa U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – When Dr. Shelby Stanhope first took up an associate professor position at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Multivariable Calculus was infamous. What is called a “barrier course” for cadets interested in STEM disciplines, Col. Scott Williams, the Academy’s Department of Mathematical Sciences head, said Calculus 3 was a make-or-break point in a STEM major’s academic career and would often determine...

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June 27, 2024

Class of 2028 appointees arrive for in-processing

By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – More than 1,100 Class of 2028 appointees took their first step in their journey to become U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force officers with their arrival for In-processing Day June 26. In-processing Day, also known as I-Day at the U.S. Air Force Academy, began at 7 a.m. when the first wave of appointees were dropped off at the Holaday Athletic Center. Buses took them to the Cadet Area, where upperclassmen gave them instructions at the footprints at the base of the Core Values Ramp....

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June 17, 2024

Cadets qualify for Olympic trials in multiple sports

Cadet 2nd Class Tommy Nagle competes for the U.S. Air Force Academy Swimming Team in competition earlier this year. During his junior season with the Academy Men's Swimming and Diving, Nagle recorded the fourth-best time in program history in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Western Athletic Conference Championships. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Four U.S. Air Force Academy cadets advanced one step closer to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in their individual sports. Cadet 2nd Class Tommy Nagle, Cadet 3rd Class Texas...

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June 6, 2024

i5 Space expands to 1,000 members nationwide

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 2nd Class John Stevenson, i5 Space national director, delivers a presentation on the organization to ROTC cadets at other educational institutions, including the University of Oklahoma, University of Texas at Austin and Yale University in the Space Delta 13 detachment May 2, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Ward) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – A space policy and strategy club founded at the U.S. Air Force Academy has expanded to a nationwide organization with over 1,000 members at dozens of U.S. Air...

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June 6, 2024

Capstone team takes formula-style car to international competition

2nd Lt. (then Cadet 1st Class) Jacob Muscato prepares to head out for the final endurance race in the Formula Society of Automotive Engineering car at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, May 11, 2024. He was part of the first U.S. Air Force Academy team to finish the almost 14-mile race in seven years. (Courtesy photo provided by Dr. Ioan Feier) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The U.S. Air Force Academy’s only cadet-designed and built human-raced vehicle capstone finished an impressive 69th out of a field of 108 cars...

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June 6, 2024

The graduation breakdown: Class of 2024 by the numbers

U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2024 graduates display their diplomas after their graduation ceremony in Falcon Stadium May 30, 2024. In all, 974 second lieutenants were commissioned into the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – More than 970 cadets graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in a ceremony at Falcon Stadium May 30. In all, 974 Class of 2024 cadets were commissioned into the Air Force and 93 were commissioned into the Space Force as...

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