December 7, 2023

Cadets design planes to solve problems

Three cadet-designed and built sub-scale flying models of stealthy target drones appear outside the U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Aeronautics after flight testing Nov. 28, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- For three decades, U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Aeronautics aircraft design cadets have tackled real-world problems by designing, building and testing airplanes and rockets. About 75 cadets in the fall aircraft design course completed flight testing and final modifications to their aircraft in November. Their mission was to apply aeronautical concepts...

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December 6, 2023

Team wins gold for iGEM research in Paris

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Cosmo Cao conducts an experiment as part of his research. Cao was part of the Academy’s 17-cadet iGEM team that earned a gold medal for their Lyme disease research during the international Genetic Engineering Machine Grand Jamboree in Paris Nov. 2-5, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Jordan Steel) By Randy Roughton and Jeff Troth U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications  U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- The team’s Lyme disease research helped them win a gold medal at the international Genetic Engineering Machine Grand Jamboree Nov. 2-5. The gold medal is the team’s second...

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November 17, 2023

Celebrating 65 years of Academy Assembly

Panelists speak at the 65th Academy Assembly Nov. 7, 2023 at Polaris Hall, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado. This year’s Assembly theme was “The Dragon Roars Back: China’s Return to the World Stage.” (U.S. Air Force photo by Rayna Grace) By Katherine Spessa U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communication U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The U.S. Air Force Academy celebrated its 65th year of the Academy Assembly and addressed China’s growing presence in the Indo-Pacific region and international spheres during a three-day event held at Polaris Hall here, Nov. 6-8. As a top priority of the National Defense Strategy,...

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November 17, 2023

Cadet critical thinking is crucial for department professor

Lt. Col. Neil Rogers stands in the U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Oct. 31, 2023. Rogers is the department’s senior military faculty member and assistant professor. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.– Every fall, Lt. Col. Neil Rogers searches for two distinct types of U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering cadets. First, the department’s senior military faculty member and assistant professor looks for cadets who show a penchant for solving the most difficult problems with plans to...

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November 14, 2023

Academy cadet selected for postgraduate Rhodes Scholarship

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Madelyn Letendre was selected for a Rhodes Scholarship, a fully funded postgraduate program in the United Kingdom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco) U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Madelyn Letendre, Class of 2024, was selected for a highly competitive Rhodes Scholarship, a fully funded postgraduate program in the United Kingdom. The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest international scholarship program enabling young people from around the world to study at the University of Oxford, according to the program’s website....

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November 14, 2023

Cadet-built satellite launches into space

Cadets watch the deployment of FalconSAT-X on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 from the Department of Astronautics Space Systems Research Center. The satellite launched at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Nov. 11, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- U.S. Air Force Academy cadets celebrated as they watched the launch of the FalconSAT-X satellite from the Department of Astronautics Space Systems Research Center Nov. 11. FalconSAT-X launched from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 mission at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Learn space by doing space Seniors from each Academy...

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November 13, 2023

Program opens Academy admission for enlisted

Kiana Baruela, pictured here as a prior-enlisted Airman first class at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, graduated from Basic Military Training Jan. 14, 2016. Baruela, now a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet first class, earned her appointment through the Leaders Encouraging Airmen Development program. (Photo provided by Cadet 1st Class Kiana Baruela) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- In 2018, then-Senior Airman Kiana Baruela was on track for a successful U.S. Air Force health management career, but she had one concern. She wanted to be an officer. Fortunately, Baruela’s attitude and leadership...

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November 13, 2023

Academy grad making his name with Space Delta 9

U.S. Space Force Capt. Dillon Duarte, a U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2016 graduate, is now chief of the Space Delta 9 Commander’s Action Group at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. (U.S. Space Force photo by Tiana Williams) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- A year before then-Cadet 2nd Class Dillon Duarte graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2016, he learned his eyesight made his dream of flying impossible. But the path to a new passion began with inspiration from a Geospatial Science satellite imagery course during his junior...

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November 6, 2023

WWII airpower legend receives honorary promotion to Colonel

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Harvey III., a Tuskegee Airman and one of the nation’s first African American fighter pilots is honorarily promoted to colonel at Denver’s Empower Field Nov. 4, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – At 100 years old, World War II and Korean War airpower legend U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Harvey III., one of the nation’s first African American fighter pilots with the famed Tuskegee Airmen, received an honorary promotion to the rank of colonel. The honorary promotion...

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November 1, 2023

Airmanship programs turn cadets into aviators

Cadets return from an Aug. 15, 2023, jump from a UV-18B Twin Otter in the U.S. Air Force Academy parachuting program. Parachuting is one of the Academy’s four Airmanship Programs. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- U.S. Air Force Academy Airmanship programs introduce cadets to flying fundamentals and potential careers as Air Force aviators. The Airmanship Experience Model Cadets develop airmanship through the Academy’s Airmanship Experience Model, said Lt. Col. Daniel Bellissimo, chief of current operations. The model includes powered and unpowered flight concepts, navigation...

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