June 8, 2017

Academy grad selected for NASA astronaut training

  412th Test Wing Public Affairs / June 07, 2017 Lt. Col. Raja Chari has been selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. Chari relinquished command of the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, California, June 9, where he oversaw developmental testing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the past few years. Simultaneously, he served as director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. Chari will leave Edwards with a selection for promotion to colonel. He has flown more than 2,000 hours in the F-36 Lightning II, the F-15 Strike Eagle, the F-16 Fighting...

Continue Reading Academy grad selected for NASA astronaut training

June 8, 2017

An educational milestone: 38 Airmen earn CCAF degrees

Laurie Wilson, June 8, 2017 A score of enlisted Airmen at the U.S. Air Force Academy proved higher education isn’t just for cadets when they received their Community College of the Air Force degrees June 6. In all, 38 Airmen received CCAFs diplomas or professional certificates at the graduation ceremony in Polaris Hall. Twenty-four earned Associates of Applied Science degrees in one of five career areas, and 14 earned professional manager certificates. “It gives me such a sense of accomplishment,” said Senior Airman Kayla-Rae Ross, 10th Medical Support Squadron. “My CCAF degrees are stepping stones to my bachelor’s degree in...

Continue Reading An educational milestone: 38 Airmen earn CCAF degrees

June 2, 2017

Prep School graduates 194 cadet-candidates

Tech. Sgt. Julius Delos Reyes/June 2, 2017 One-hundred-ninety-four cadet-candidates graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School during a ceremony May 18. Of those graduates, 186 received appointments to the Academy. The cadet-candidates completed the school’s 10-month curriculum, designed to prepare them to succeed and lead at the Air Force Academy. As part of the curriculum, the prep school emphasized learning in academics, military training, athletics and character development. “I am so very proud of you,” said Col. Jacqueline Breeden, Preparatory School commander, as she addressed the graduates. “Congratulations. Safe travels on your journey and aim high.” The colonel...

Continue Reading Prep School graduates 194 cadet-candidates

April 3, 2018

USAFA Class of ’18 inspired by founders

By Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, Superintendent, U.S. Air Force Academy/April 3, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Last week, I had the opportunity to travel to Texas to attend Founder’s Day activities with Air Force Academy graduates, families, supporters and friends, and in the weeks to come I look forward to attending more of these events in Boston, St. Louis and California. It’s been a privilege to meet so many of our USAFA community members, and to witness their enthusiasm for our mission. It’s also been inspiring to see the wide impact of this Academy -- we’ve come a...

Continue Reading USAFA Class of ’18 inspired by founders

April 9, 2018

Former JCS Chairman Myers gets USAFA Character, Leadership Award

  By Ray Bowden, April 9, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers told senior cadets at the Air Force Academy to expect challenges after graduating in May. “If you plotted your ups and downs here at the Academy, it would look like you were having a heart attack,” he said. Myers, a retired four-star general and the 15th JCS chairman, was the featured guest at the Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy Endowment’s Character and Leadership Awards ceremony, April 5. He was nominated to receive the Character and...

Continue Reading Former JCS Chairman Myers gets USAFA Character, Leadership Award

February 28, 2019

Navigating back from suicide: Air Force Academy provides assistance to survivors

(U.S. Air Force illustration by Airman 1st Class Kathryn R.C. Reaves) By Laurie Wilson, Feb. 28, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --She sat motionless, hands gripping a luke-warm mug of coffee, trying to comprehend the shocking news that just devastated her world.  “I never even saw it coming,” she thought. This scene is more often than not a common experience for those left to cope in the aftermath of suicide. Maybe you’ve been here too. Last year, 58 active-duty Airmen and three reserve Airmen committed suicide, less than in 2017, but still troubling said the director of Air Force...

Continue Reading Navigating back from suicide: Air Force Academy provides assistance to survivors

October 26, 2018

Boxing lessons for the cyber realm

Col. Jaak Tarien of the Estonian Air Force is a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. (Courtesy photo) By Jeff Holmquist, Oct. 26, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- When Col. Jaak Tarien graduated from the U.S. States Air Force Academy as a member of the Class of 1998, he never envisioned becoming a world-renowned expert on cyber security. Yet when he returns for his 20th class reunion this weekend, Tarien has a brand new promotion to brag about -- commander of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence. “My roommate during my last two years at...

Continue Reading Boxing lessons for the cyber realm

November 16, 2018

Air Force vice chief of staff presents honor to Cadet of the Year

By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, Nov. 16, 2018 WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Cadet 1st Class Kyle Haak was honored as the British Air Squadron’s 2018 Cadet of the Year during a ceremony Nov. 6, 2018, at the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia. During the ceremony, presided over by Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson, Haak was recognized for his demonstrated excellence in academics, military skills, and athletics while enrolled at the U.S. Air Force Academy. “He is the epitome of a scholar, leader and an athlete; he is the epitome of the American Airman,” Wilson said....

Continue Reading Air Force vice chief of staff presents honor to Cadet of the Year

November 16, 2018

Air Force Academy cadets help family out of crashed car

  U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin (left), commandant of cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy, chats with a group of cadets on the Terrazzo, Nov. 13, 2018. The five cadets seen here helped a family out of an overturned vehicle after it lost traction and slid off the highway near Breckenridge, Nov. 11, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo/Joshua Armstrong) Story by Jennifer Spradlin, Nov. 16, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -– Returning from a weekend ski trip in Breckenridge, Colorado, five Air Force Academy cadets witnessed the vehicle in front of them fishtail,...

Continue Reading Air Force Academy cadets help family out of crashed car

November 15, 2018

Update: Falcon SAT 6 satellite lifts off on Space X rocket, Dec. 3

Faculty members and cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy wait to receive "first contact" from the cadet-designed FalconSAT-6 satellite that successfully launched into space just before noon, Dec. 3, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo/Joshua Armstrong) Story by Jennifer Spradlin, Dec. 3, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- A satellite designed and built by Air Force Academy cadets successfully launched into space just after 11:30 a.m. (MT), Dec. 3. The FalconSAT-6 satellite was originally slated for a Nov. 19 lift-off but modifications and a change of launch vehicles delayed the launch. Lt. Col. Luke Sauter, head of the Academy’s Astronautics...

Continue Reading Update: Falcon SAT 6 satellite lifts off on Space X rocket, Dec. 3