April 30, 2021

Cadets study Americanness through new interdisciplinary minor

By Ashley D. Murphy, Strategic Communications U.S. Air Force Academy — Cadets can now dive deeper into understanding the country they are preparing to serve and defend. American Studies has been added to the list of minors available to cadets; making the U.S. Air Force Academy the first and only service academy to offer such a minor. “It is always important for future officer-citizens in a democratic country to know and grapple with the complex truths about their nation. But given everything that is happening in our country, it is hard to imagine a more pressing time for such a...

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December 22, 2021

Air Force Academy grad embraces new NASA role, future of spaceflight

Kelvin Manning was named deputy director at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after serving as the Florida spaceport’s associate director for more than a decade. (NASA photo/Kim Shifle) Story by Jim Cawley, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center public Affairs   KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Kelvin Manning has served in several critical roles in his nearly 30 years at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. He was the Florida spaceport’s associate director for more than a decade. He also held multiple key positions within the Space Shuttle Program, was the first division chief for the agency’s Orion spacecraft, and served on the last three NASA...

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February 8, 2022

Want to fly without being a pilot? Here’s how.

1st Lt. Abraham Eaton goes inverted on a T-38 test flight. Photo courtesy 1st Lt. Abraham Eaton. By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications. Did you know the Air Force Academy is a pipeline for the Air Force Test Pilot School? The process has been recently been optimized and two former cadets share their experiences with TPS and tell us how the Academy prepared them for success. 1st Lt. Abraham Eaton recalls getting motion sickness on playground swings as a young child, but that never kept him from wanting to fly. Once he became a cadet at the Air Force Academy, he found...

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March 1, 2022

Wing Open Boxing Championships: Your questions answered

Cadet Don Angelo Piasecki lands a punch onto Cadet Will Winstead in the 132-pound men’s weight class during the 2021 Wing Open Boxing Championships. By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications Cadets and boxing fans are convening under the bright lights of Clune Arena for the 64th annual Wing Open Boxing Championships on March 4, 2022 at 7 p.m. This year’s competition will be open to the public. Below is a run-down on this storied championship and your guide to boxing at the U.S. Air Force Academy. 1. What is the Wing Open? Since 1958, cadets from all forty squadrons have been...

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March 12, 2022

Sully returns with lessons for cadets

From left to right: Cadet Keane Singleton, Cadet Maria Norman, Ambassador Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, Cadet Connor Portlock, and Cadet Garrett Dean. Sullenberger receives a soaring instructor patch from the 94th Flying Training Squadron (FTS) in the Davis Airfield hangar at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications Photos by Joshua Armstrong. Ambassador Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger returned to the United States Air Force Academy’s Davis Airfield, Feb. 25, 2022, to connect with four aviation program cadet leaders while answering their questions about his time at the Academy. A 1973 Academy graduate and...

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March 7, 2022

Five life and innovation hacks from a cadet inventor

By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications Photos by Josh Armstrong Cadet Schlichting stands in front of the United States Air Force Academy’s aeronautics laboratory. Cadet First Class Grant Schlichting, a senior at the United States Air Force Academy, holds a patent-pending for a device that will change how we fight the wars to come. Schlichting is the creator of the Aerial Tow Rehookup (ATR), an invention with a provisional patent under the US Patent and Trademark Office. The ATR involves the utilization of a military cargo plane to tow multiple aircraft at any given time, from the smallest of unmanned drones...

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April 21, 2022

Cadets collaborate in B-52 Bomber ejection seat redesign

A redesign of the B-52 Bomber’s ejection survival kit was the main topic of the CyberWorx innovation design sprint on April 6-8, 2022. By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications Photos by Trevor Cokley & Clara Cirks U.S. AIR FOR ACADEMY, Colo. -- Cadets recently collaborated in a redesign of the B-52 Bomber’s aging survival equipment hosted by the Air Force CyberWorx innovation center at the United States Air Force Academy on April 6-8, 2022 Cadets participated in a ‘design sprint’ with academic faculty, private industry experts, B-52 crewmembers, the Global Strike Command’s StrikeWerx innovation cell, and representatives from the B-52 System...

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June 14, 2022

The Azimuth Summer Space Program: What You Need to Know

By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications Azimuth students jump on the flightline at the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport June 6, 2022 before their parabolic training flight in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Courtesy photo/Steve Boxall) Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy just completed the Academy’s inaugural summer space program on 10 June, 2022. Azimuth is a unique summer program for Academy cadets as well as Navy, West Point and ROTC students considering a commission in the U.S. Space Force. The two-week opportunity provides an immersive introduction to operations in the space domain. Modeled after NASA’s two-year Astronaut Training Program, Azimuth introduces...

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July 14, 2022

Summertime course provides cadets combat survival training

Cadets and cadre members stand near orange flare smoke during combat survival training at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado July 12, 2022. CST includes training on medical care, food preparation, aircraft signaling and navigation, all of which are essential for survival when service members are isolated in the field. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo.) U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – More than 1,000 U.S. Air Force Academy cadet trainees are learning to survive in austere environments during Combat Survival Training, June through July 2022. Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists and cadet cadre train four...

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July 25, 2022

Ceremonial groundbreaking for new Academy visitor center

The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new visitor center took place at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. July 25, 2022. From left to right: representing the Association of Graduates and Air Force Academy Foundation, Mr. Jerome Bruni, Colorado Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera, Project Developer Mr. Dan Schnepf, Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations Mr. Robert Moriarty. (Joshua Armstrong/U.S. Air Force Academy) Story by Tali Burress U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new U.S. Air Force Academy...

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