February 24, 2017

Academy physics experiment goes to International Space station

By John Van Winkle, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs.   A cadet and faculty space physics experiment is in the hands of astronauts aboard the International Space station, more than 250 miles above the Earth. The latest Air Force Academy academic product in space is the Space Test Program-Houston 5 Automated Plume Sentry or “APS.” The sentry was delivered by Space-X Corporation’s CRS-10 mission, resupplying cargo and experiments to the station. Dr. Geoff McHarg, director of the Academy’s Space Physics and Atmospheric Research Center, said space might be a vacuum but it’s far from empty. “It contains countless micrometeoroids...

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February 24, 2017

Update: Cadets selected to compete in round 2 of NASA space-habitat design competition

By John Van Winkle, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs.   National Institute of Aerospace officials invited cadets to compete in the next round of the RASC-AL Space Habitat Competition's in March. If the team makes it through the next cut, they'll compete in the competition's final round, May 31-June 2 in Florida. The cadets are designing a space habitat module to use in low-Earth orbit after the International Space Station is no longer available. To complete in round 1, cadet researchers submitted the required 5-page abstract and two-minute video. Teams making it through the first round submit a mid-project...

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February 24, 2017

10th SFS Airman gets $Million view, life experience at USAFA

By Ray Bowden and Laurie Wilson, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs.   How does an airman first class get an office bigger than the superintendent’s? Earn a spot as an Elite Sentry with the 10th Security Forces Squadron, like Giovanni Fiorella. Fiorella considers the 18,500-acre base, with its sweeping view of the Front Range Mountains, to be his office. “I get a Million-dollar view every day,” he said. “There are times just looking around, it brings the mood up.” Fiorella, 22, is from Palmdale, California. He likes snowboarding, wake boarding, paintball, and dirt and street bikes. He graduated from...

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February 23, 2017

Academy to host NCLS: 9/11 pilot among featured speakers

U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs / Published February 15, 2017.   The Air Force Academy will host the National Character and Leadership Symposium Feb. 23-24 in Arnold Hall. The annual event will feature numerous civilian and military speakers giving their perspective on leadership challenges. "NCLS encourages us to be engaged citizens and equips us for honorable living and effective leadership," said Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson, the Academy superintendent. "When you consider the full spectrum of our missions across the globe, honorable living and effective leadership are more than important -- they're absolutely critical to our success as the...

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January 17, 2017

Senior Faculty Members Recognized as Permanent Professors

By John Van Winkle, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs / Published January 17, 2017. U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy recognized four new permanent professors at a Jan. 6 investiture ceremony in Arnold Hall. They are Col. John Cinnamon, head of the Aeronautics Department; Col. Scott Williams, head of the Mathematical Sciences Department; Col. Steven Hasstedt, head of the Biology Department; and Col. Mark Anarumo, director of the Center for Character and Leadership Development. “Today’s ceremony underscores the responsibility that comes with this position,” said Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson. “It is a formal...

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January 10, 2017

Senior Cadet Yarwood Takes Command of Cadet Wing

By John Van Winkle, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs / Published January 10, 2017 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadet 1st Class Jacob Yarwood became the busiest cadet at the Air Force Academy Jan. 4 when he assumed command of the Cadet Wing. Yarwood took over command from Cadet 1st Class Sara Fishbein in a change-of-command ceremony in Mitchell Hall. Cadet Wing commander-candidates undergo squadron, group and wing level interviews before their selection is approved. As CW commander, Yarwood will run the day-to-day operations of 4,000 cadets for the spring semester. “It’s a great opportunity to not only...

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January 5, 2017

Breaking Barriers

Cadet 1st Class Cinthya Elizondo-Gamez, Cadet Squadron 36 / Published January 05, 2017. U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- My brother Marco graduated from Basic Military Training when I was 12. I’ve always wanted to be like him. I remember watching Marco and the other newly-minted Airmen march onto the parade field at Joint-Base San Antonio. I was impressed and researched joining the U.S. military. I discovered the service academies but only had eyes for one: the Air Force Academy. Now, several years later, I’m a cadet first class at the Academy. I will graduate in May with a bachelors...

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November 21, 2016

Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy Returns to Academy

Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson (center left), the superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Dr. Jim Knowlton, the director of the Academy's Athletics Department (center right), stand besides the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy Nov. 17, 2017, in Mitchell Hall. Johnson presented the trophy to the Cadet Wing from the Staff Tower during a long round of applause from cadets. Standing with Johnson and Knowlton are Falcon Football head coach Troy Calhoun, members of the Air Force Falcons, and Brig. Gen. Stephen Williams, the commander of the Cadet Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Darcie Ibidapo) By Ray Bowden, U.S. Air Force Academy Public...

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November 14, 2016

Jabara Award Goes to Fighter Pilot

By Tech. Sgt. Jasmine Reif, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Maj. Matthew Kuta, a 2005 Air Force Academy graduate and fighter pilot, was awarded the 2016 Col. James Jabara Award for Airmanship Nov. 9 at the Academy. Kuta was nominated for the award earlier this year by Brig. Gen. Mark Slocum, director of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-United Kingdom, for his heroic actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria in 2014. In the nomination letter, Slocum writes, “Major Kuta’s ability to effectively employ weapons in three nations, each with different rules of engagement, while leading young...

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November 10, 2016

Air Force Leaders Thank Airmen on Veterans Day

By Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David Goldfein, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs WASHINGTON --  To the Airmen of the United States Air Force: Since 1776, Americans from every generation have had the honor and privilege to serve and defend our nation. Each of you joined 22 million other American Veterans in answering this sacred calling … vowing to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic.”  There is no higher...

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