February 6, 2024

Cadet mountaineers grow as friends, leaders

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 2nd Class Alyssa Hargis, one of the cadet Mountaineering Club, leaders, ascends the climbing wall in the Cadet Fitness Center Jan. 18, 2024. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - During Cadet 2nd Class Alyssa Hargis’s first trip with the U.S. Air Force Academy Mountaineering Club, she conquered her first 14,000-foot summit on Torreys Peak. The 14,267-foot peak in the Arapahoe National Forest is the highest point on the Continental Divide and considered a “welcome-to-the-team trip” for freshman cadet climbers....

Continue Reading Cadet mountaineers grow as friends, leaders

February 29, 2024

Planned airfield overlook honors Tuskegee Airmen

An artist’s rendering of the upcoming Tuskegee Airmen Memorial overlooking Davis Airfield at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. By Katherine Spessa U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Officials renamed the Academy’s airfield in November 2019 to Davis Airfield after Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a renowned Tuskegee Airman and barrier-breaking Air Force leader. Four years later, the U.S. Air Force Academy is now taking a further step toward honoring black World War II pilots with a planned Tuskegee Airmen Memorial overlooking the airfield. Officials are working hand-in-hand with the Air Force Academy Foundation...

Continue Reading Planned airfield overlook honors Tuskegee Airmen

March 11, 2024

Miss America tours alma mater with 27 other state delegates

Miss America 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh talks to Institute of Future Conflict Director Bradford J. Shwedo in the Multi-Domain Laboratory during her homecoming tour with 27 other state delegates Feb. 23, 2024. Marsh, a 2023 Academy graduate, became the first active-duty U.S. Air Force officer to win the Miss America Pageant the previous month. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Dylan Smith) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Miss America returned to her alma mater, the U.S. Air Force Academy, with 27 fellow state delegates Feb. 23. 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, Class...

Continue Reading Miss America tours alma mater with 27 other state delegates

March 12, 2024

Management course transforms cadets into innovators

Cadets 1st Class Christopher Lindley, left, Trevin Mabe, and Isiskyra Budd watch an exercise on market sizing and analysis during a U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Management Leading Innovation class March 8, 2024. The new experiential course teaches critical innovation theories by applying a customer discovery process to real-world problems. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Justin Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – A new Department of Management course prepares cadets to lead innovation efforts at their first U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force assignments. The Leading Innovation course...

Continue Reading Management course transforms cadets into innovators

March 14, 2024

Metallurgy: creating art through knife-making

Cadet 1st Class Ryan Hebert forges a knife in the U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Mechanical Engineering March 11, 2024. Cadets in the senior-level Physical Metallurgy course construct a knife for their class project. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Each cadet in Capt. Michael Lee’s Physical Metallurgy course constructs a knife for their class project. This semester, two cadets satisfied the requirement by producing knives for the 2024 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Bladesmithing Competition in Orlando, Florida. In early March, Cadets...

Continue Reading Metallurgy: creating art through knife-making

March 18, 2024

Experts help cadets understand the future of war-fighting

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Lauren Blackwelder flies a simulator in the Multi-Domain Laboratory during the Firstie Flag exercise Feb. 10, 2024. The Institute for Future Conflict places cadets in the lab to provide a glimpse into missions in a potential conflict with a great-power adversary. (U.S. Air Force photo by Travis Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – First-class cadets eyeing the roles they will play in competition with other world powers will face different adversaries and threats than previous generations of officers. The Institute for Future Conflict...

Continue Reading Experts help cadets understand the future of war-fighting

March 26, 2024

Cadets learn, instruct during legal conference

U.S. Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, Space Command commander, speaks during the Fourth Annual USSPACECOM Legal Conference March 6, 2024 at Polaris Hall, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado. (Courtesy photo) By Katherine Spessa U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The U.S. Air Force Academy hosted the U.S. Space Command’s fourth annual legal conference in Polaris Hall here, allowing cadets to attend and present at the event, which welcomes industry leaders each year. The conference was organized by USSPACECOM, the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Law, Technology and...

Continue Reading Cadets learn, instruct during legal conference

March 28, 2024

Cadet capstone centers on robotic swarming

Cadet 1st Class Jabari Bowen test-flies a drone in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering March 21, 2024. Bowen is part of a team working on a robotic swarming cadet capstone research with a leading aerospace and global security company. (U.S. Air Force photo by Dylan Smith) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Three cadets carefully observe their drone swarm’s flying patterns in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The three drones are cadet-built, modified and tested. Cadets 1st Class Jabari Bowen, Mason Rolph and Marcus Sander will add...

Continue Reading Cadet capstone centers on robotic swarming

April 1, 2024

Academy celebrates 70 years since founding

Renowned photographer Ansel Adams was commissioned by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to photograph the site chosen for the newly-founded U.S. Air Force Academy May 14-15, 1955. The Academy celebrates its 70th Founders’ Day on April 1, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Ansel Adams Collections) By Katherine Spessa U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Built of glass and aluminum, the post-modern facades of the U.S. Air Force Academy campus stand stark against the sky and rugged mountains of Colorado, evocative of early aircraft and their juxtaposition of man and nature. This was precisely the intent...

Continue Reading Academy celebrates 70 years since founding

April 2, 2024

Liaison team address cadet parents’ questions

As the Parent Liaison Team, Carrie Clancy and Rose Marie Nikovits connect cadet parents with U.S. Air Force Academy events, leadership and policies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Ward) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – When parents of cadets have a question, they can find the answer with the U.S. Air Force Academy Parent Liaison Team. The two-member team, part of the Strategic Communications Outreach Division, provides an important resource for parents throughout their children’s cadet careers. “If parents have any issues, they come to us,” said Rose...

Continue Reading Liaison team address cadet parents’ questions