April 18, 2017

Academy Prep School to get ‘EZpay’

[caption id="attachment_5773" align="alignnone" width="3600"] U.S. Air Force Academy Prep school graduation[/caption] By Ray Bowden/April 17, 2017 Cadet-candidates at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School are scheduled to get a new payment plan this summer. The EZpay Stored Value Card Program will reduce financial hardships some cadet-candidates face, said Lt. Col. Jennifer Russell, the Prep School’s vice commander. “Cadet-candidates must bring a check for $1,600 for books and other necessities when they arrive,” she said. “This presents a hardship for a large percentage of students.” Russell said 12-percent of the students directly appointed to the Prep School are from families making...

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April 18, 2017

Academy grad arrives at International Space station April 20

  By John Van Winkle/April 17, 2017 An Air Force Academy graduate traveled to the International Space Station April 20 to conduct research NASA hopes will eventually lead to a mission to Mars. Astronaut Col. Jack Fischer made the six-hour flight to the station, more than 200 miles above the Earth, with cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos, Russia’s State Corporation for Space Activities, aboard the Russian-made Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft. Lift-off was just after 1 a.m. (MT), from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan, the world's first and largest operational space-launch facility. When Fischer and Yurkchikin reached the station, they joined the astronauts...

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April 14, 2017

Academy’s Operations Research Program recognized for reach, excellence

  By John Van Winkle/April 11, 2017 U.S. Air Force Academy. Colo. -- The U.S. Air Force Academy won a high-level award April 4 for its work to advance operations research and prepare graduates to be research practitioners, as Air Force analysts. The 2017 UPS George D. Smith Prize was presented to the Academy at the 2017 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research in Las Vegas, Nevada. The annual event draws more than 1,000 leading and international analytics and operations professionals. “By teaming with a variety of organizations to provide its students access to 'real world' data and...

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April 12, 2017

Academy celebrates Founders’ Day

By Ray Bowden/April 12, 2017 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The U.S. Air Force Academy hailed its origins April 7 with its annual Founders’ Day celebration. Founders' Day is a traditional celebration of the legacy and future of the Air Force Academy and its founders. Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson and William Thompson, the president and CEO of the Academy’s Association of Graduates, presented four Academy alumni with the 2016 Distinguished Graduate Award in Mitchell Hall. The recipients are retired Generals George Butler and Charles Holland, retired Col. Gary Payton; and David Yost. Butler, a 1961 graduate, led the...

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April 12, 2017

JCS Chairman Dunford to speak at USAFA graduation May 24

By U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs/Published April 12, 2017 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. is scheduled to give the Class of 2017 commencement speech, May 24 at the U.S. Air Force Academy. As chairman, Dunford is the highest-ranking military officer in the U.S. and principal military adviser to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council. Before his Oct. 1, 2015 appointment as chairman, Dunford served as the 36th commandant of the Marine Corps. He was also assistant commandant of the Marine Corps from 2010 to 2012, and...

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April 5, 2017

‘Trusted care’: Academy pharmacy saves millions in tax dollars

By Laurie Wilson, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs / Published April 5, 2017 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Saving the Defense Department more than $17 million in two years is no small feat, but the 10th Medical Group did just that by improving its processes. Lt. Col. Crystal Price, flight commander for the 10th Medical Support Squadron’s pharmacy, said the savings represent the quality of the pharmacy staff’s dedication to customer service. “It’s fantastic we’ve been able to recoup and save this money, but that result has been the frosting on the cake,” she said. “At the end...

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April 5, 2017

A life less ordinary: Former cadet, Rhodes scholar pushes the limits

By Tech. Sgt. Jarad Denton, 501st Combat Support Wing / Published April 05, 2017 RAF ALCONBURY, United Kingdom -- The oar blades cut through the cold water of the River Thames as the eight-person team drove their boat in perfect synchronization at the Oxford University Boat House, UK. There was no room for error and time was running out. The Oxford University Women's Boat Club would challenge the University of Cambridge April 2 at the Cancer Research UK Boat Races. The pressure was mounting, but the team held fast and stayed motivated. “Out there on the water it’s all about...

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April 3, 2017

Wings of Blue to jump into Texas Rangers’ home opener, April 3

By John Van Winkle, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs, Published April 03, 2017 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Wings of Blue, the Air Force Academy’s parachute team, will help the Texas Rangers kick off their Major League Baseball season with a jump into the team’s home opener, April 3 at Globe Life Park, Arlington, Texas. The WOB will take part in the pre-game ceremonies before the Rangers compete against compete against the Cleveland Indians. Five Academy parachutists are scheduled to jump: Maj. Chase Scully, Master Sgt. James Cain, and Cadets 1st Class Gabriel Dawson, Everett Joiner and Jordan...

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March 28, 2017

Cadets build homes during spring break

Then-Cadet 2nd Class Leah Gates (left) and then-Cadet 4th Class Luke Robinson shovel dirt into a wheelbarrow in Corpus Christi, Texas, March 22, 2016, during an Alternate Spring Break Program volunteer effort with Habitat for Humanity. (Air Force photo/John Van Winkle)   By Maureen Welch, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs /Published March 27, 2017 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Scores of cadets are building and repairing homes today across the U.S. The 110 cadet-volunteers taking part in the Alternate Spring Break Program here will return April 2 from working in Lafayette and Mandeville, Louisianna; Eglin, Illinois; Fort Smith,...

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March 23, 2017

Academy hosts State of USAFA address

By Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs / Published March 23, 2017.   U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The U.S. Air Force Academy’s top officer discussed modernization, improving the school’s communications and ridding its institution of sexual assault, March 22 at the State of USAFA Forum. The forum is an annual update on the school’s state of affairs for civic officials, the media, and the industry partners. Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson also announced the name of the officer selected to be the next commandant of cadets, Col. Kristin Goodwin. Goodwin, a 1993 Academy graduate, was nominated by...

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