US Air Force Academy

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Trump Not Happy With 'Construction Disaster' at Air Force Chapel

President wants an investigation as renovation costs rise to $335M

(Newser) - President Trump is calling for an investigation into the soaring cost of renovations at the Air Force Academy's iconic Cadet Chapel, reports the Hill . The president has labeled the decades-old building in Colorado Springs a "CONSTRUCTION DISASTER from the time it was built in 1962," and didn'...

Military Academies Agree: No Race-Conscious Admissions

West Point, Air Force Academy reach agreement with Students for Fair Admissions

(Newser) - A group that sued West Point and the US Air Force Academy over their consideration of race in admissions have now dropped the case. The lawsuits were filed in the aftermath of the 2023 Supreme Court decision that eliminated race as a factor in admissions at colleges, while excluding military...

3 Cadets Who Refused Vaccine Won't Be Commissioned

Air Force Academy says they'll still receive bachelor degrees, while a fourth had a change of heart

(Newser) - Update: Three cadets who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will receive bachelor degrees, the Air Force Academy said Saturday, but they won't be commissioned as military officers. The secretary of the Air Force will decide whether the three will have to reimburse the federal government for their education...

Biden to Trump Allies on Military Academy Boards: Resign or Be Fired

Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer were among 18 who received letters Wednesday

(Newser) - The Biden administration moved Wednesday to oust 18 allies of Donald Trump who were named to US military academy boards in the final months of the Republican president's term in office. Cathy Russell, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, sent letters to 18 people named to the...

Pence Addresses Air Force Grads
Pence Travels to
Cadets' Graduation
Apr 19, 2020 12:00 PM CDT

Pence Travels to Cadets' Graduation

Cadets file into a silent stadium without family and friends in attendance

(Newser) - In a nod to normalcy, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a commencement address to the Air Force Academy's graduating class on Saturday, telling the cadets that by setting off to defend the nation they "inspire confidence that we will prevail against the invisible enemy in our time as...

Air Force Academy Reveals Source of Racial Slurs in Dorm

Student wrote the slurs outside his own room, others

(Newser) - Racial slurs posted outside the dorm rooms of five black students at the Air Force Academy were written by one of those students, the school said Tuesday. The announcement was a jarring turn in an episode that prompted the academy's superintendent to warn students that racists were not welcome...

Air Force Chief Tells Cadets to Record His Warning on Phones

'You should be outraged,' he said after n-word is scrawled at school

(Newser) - "If you can't treat someone from another race or a different color skin with dignity and respect, then you need to get out," Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria barked at 4,000 cadets at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday. His message came...

Air Force Rules 'So Help Me God' Optional in Oath

Those enlisting now have the choice to omit the reference to a supreme being

(Newser) - The Air Force says it will now allow men and women taking a service oath to omit the words "so help me God" since an airman in Nevada was recently refused re-enlistment after striking out the words on his paperwork. "We take any instance in which Airmen report...

30 Cadets Injured in All-Out 'Brawl'

Sergeant-tossing ritual leaves 6 hospitalized

(Newser) - An Air Force ritual devolved into an all-out melee last week that left 30 cadets injured and six hospitalized—with concussions, cuts, and an arm bite, NBC News reports. It was all part of the unauthorized "First Shirt/First Snow" ritual, in which cadets toss a sergeant into a snow...

Military Schools See 1st Openly Gay Graduates

Students bring same-sex partners to major events

(Newser) - It's graduation time at America's military academies, and for the first time, gay students are celebrating without having to keep their sexual orientations a secret. For many, that means bringing same-sex dates to end-of-year events. In the past, notes a West Point cadet, "I had to do...

At Air Force 'Stonehenge', a Pagan Sanctuary

'We're here to accommodate all religions, period,' faith chief says

(Newser) - The United States Air Force Academy in Colorado is taking its commitment to respect religious minorities very seriously, the Los Angeles Times finds. Earlier this year, the academy dedicated a Stonehenge-like worship center on a hill for the use of current and future cadets who are pagans, druids, Wiccans, or...

Four Sisters Make Air Force History

They're the first family to graduate four from the academy

(Newser) - Two Air Force Academy cadets helped make history this week as they tossed their hats in the air. Twin sisters Amanda and Alicia Robillard joined their two older sisters as academy graduates, marking the first family to graduate four sisters. Older sister Lauren (class of 2007) is a helicopter pilot...

Sexual Assault Reports Soar at Military Academies

But that might just mean more people coming forward

(Newser) - Reports of sexual assault shot up 64% in the 2009-10 academic year at the US’ three military academies, the Defense Department announced yesterday, but that might not be a bad thing. A total of 41 assaults involving students were reported to authorities at West Point, the Naval Academy and the...

West Point Tops Best Colleges List

(Newser) - The US Military Academy tops the new Forbes list of top colleges, leapfrogging five places to bump Princeton out of the top spot. In the second annual ranking, another service academy, the Air Force's, lands in seventh place on a list that places schools according to "the quality of...

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