Friday, April 25

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Friday, April 25th-  On this day, back in 2000  --  The Academy men’s soccer team scrimmages Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids at the Academy.  Cadet Rich Cullen, Class of ’00, who had been drafted by the Rapids, was in goal for them in the second half, making five saves in the 3-1 Rapids win.  …Also on this day, back in 2016  --  Brigadier General (Retired) Malham Wakin delivers the Polaris Hall Inaugural Lecture.  General Wakin served on active duty for 42 years and taught at the Academy for 57 years. ...

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Thursday, April 24th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Thursday, April 24th-  On this day, back in 2015  --  The POW Memorial Sculpture Dedication Ceremony takes place in Doolittle Hall.  The sculpture, located in the Southeast Asia Memorial Pavilion, contained the names of the 33 Academy graduates who had served as prisoners of war in Vietnam.  Nineteen of those POWs attended the dedication.   …Also on this day, back in 2021  --  Approximately 50 cadets fly aboard UH-1N "Huey" and HH-60G "Pave Hawk" helicopters.  The flights, hosted by pilots from the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base,...

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Wednesday, April 23rd

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Wednesday, April 23th-  On this day, back in 1995  --  Cadet Steve Russ, Class of ’95, becomes the fifth Academy football player drafted by a National Football League team when the Denver Broncos choose the linebacker in the seventh round.  He would play in the NFL from 1997 until 2000, and go on to coach at Air Force.  …Also on this day, back in 2015  --  Nineteen Academy-graduate Vietnam War POWs visit the Cadet Area.  This was the largest congregation of these POWs in Academy history.  They had lunch on...

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Tuesday, April 22nd

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Tuesday, April 22nd-  On this day, back in 2009  --  Astronaut and former United States Senator John Glenn Jr. receives the 2008 T. D. White Award during a visit to the Academy.  The award, established in 1962, was presented annually to a U.S. citizen who had contributed significantly to the national defense of the United States.  …Also on this day, back in 2014  --  San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Class of ‘70, is named National Basketball Association coach of the year.  He joined Don Nelson and Pat Riley as...

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Monday, April 21st

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Monday, April 21st-  On this day, back in 2003  --  Rhodes Scholar Bart Holaday, Class of ’65, and his wife Lynn establish a scholarship to send cadets to the University of Oxford.  The Holaday Scholarship, named in honor of his mother, was awarded annually to the top-ranking Academy graduate who competed for but did not receive a Rhodes Scholarship.  Cadet Timothy Bruner, Class of ’03, was the first recipient.  …Also on this day, back in 2018  --  Dr. Thomas Jones, Class of ’77, is inducted into the Astronaut Hall of...

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Weekend of April 19th and 20th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for the Weekend of April 19th and 20th-  On this day, back in 2012  --  The Academy Cyber Competition Team wins the 2012 NSA Cyber Defense Exercise.  The cadet team not only defeated West Point, Annapolis and the Coast Guard Academy, but also scored higher than both teams from the Air Force Institute of Technology and one from the Royal Military College of Canada.  …Also this weekend, back in 2017  --  The seventh telescope in the Academy’s Falcon Telescope Network is installed at Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado.  The FLC-Falcon was...

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Friday, April 18th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Friday, April 18th-  On this day, back in 2011 --  President Barack Obama presents the 2010 Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to members of the Academy football team in a White House ceremony.  The event took place in the Rose Garden.  …Also on this day, back in 2020  --  For the first time, graduating cadets are commissioned directly into the U.S. Space Force.  A total of 86 graduates, who wore platinum sashes rather than gold ones on their parade dress uniforms at graduation, were commissioned by General John Raymond, the Space Force's first...

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Thursday, April 17th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Thursday, April 17th-  On this day, back in 2021  --  The Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team premieres a new routine as it begins its 2021 season at the Cocoa Beach Air Show in Florida.  The team, which would also perform at the Academy graduation in May, made the first major change to its routine in forty years.  The show was condensed from 90 minutes to 50 minutes.    …Also on this day, back in 2022  --  Robert Lee, Class of 2010, is featured on an episode of the CBS news program...

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Wednesday, April 16th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Wednesday, April 16th-  On this day, back in 2021  --  The Academy announces that it will rename the Consolidated Education and Training Facility “Gregory Hall” in honor of Retired Colonel Frederick Gregory, Class of ’64.  Colonel Gregory flew 550 combat rescue missions in Vietnam and earned competitive selection in the first class of space shuttle astronauts.    …Also on this day, back in 2022  --  The 500th episode of “The Cover Hour With Steve Simon” airs on K-A-F-A, the Academy’s radio station.  The program, which consisted of remakes, versions of songs...

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Tuesday, April 15th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Tuesday, April 15th-  On this day, back in 2017  --  The sixth class of the Academy Athletic Hall of Fame is inducted during a ceremony at the Colorado Springs Marriott.  The class consists of men’s tennis coach Rich Gugat, men’s and women’s swimming coach Paul Arata, baseball and football player Mike Thiessen (Class of ’01), runner Jim Murphy (’66), fencer Seth Kelsey (’03), diver Rick McAlister (‘75), and the 1995-96 back-to-back NCAA champion women’s swimming and diving teams.  …Also on this day, back in 2023  --  Cadet Victoria Leppert, Class...

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