United States Air Force Academy

USAFA is a redirect to this article. For the aid organization see USA for Africa .

United States Air Force Academy - USAFA -
motto	Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do
founding	1954
Sponsorship	Air Force
place	El Paso County , Colorado
Superintendent	Jay B. Silveria
Students	approx 4500
Professors	565
University sports	Mountain West Conference
Website	www.usafa.af.mil

The United States Air Force Academy (abbreviated USAFA , German: "Academy of the Air Force of the United States") is a facility for officer training of the United States Air Force . The campus is located near the city of Colorado Springs in the state of Colorado in the United States . The academy was founded in 1954. Similar to the academies of the other branches of the armed forces, training is highly regarded in the United States.

history

USAFA campus in August 2007

Already in the early days of military aviation in the United States , pioneers such as Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell suggested the establishment of such an institution, but repeatedly encountered resistance from the United States Army , the parent force.

With the spin-off of the United States Army Air Corps organized air forces from the army of the United States in 1947 in the new armed force called the United States Air Force finally need has arisen for qualified officers. Since the body set up by the now independent Air Force found hardly any political hearing, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal set up a government-wide body to develop a general program for the academic training of the armed forces. This body was chaired by the future President of the United States , Dwight D. Eisenhower , who at that time was still serving as the university director of Columbia University . His deputy was Robert Steams, President of the University of Colorado.

In the summer of 1950, the panel found that the Air Force's need for qualified executives could not be met by the other branches of the armed forces, either academically or personally, and recommended the establishment of an independent institution to serve the United States Air Force, with the proportion of its graduates not in the long term Time should make up less than 40 percent of the entire officer corps of the armed forces.

On May 1, 1954, Eisenhower signed as President the Air Force Academy Act , with the resolution of which Congress had given its approval for the establishment of an Air Force Academy. Harold E. Talbott , then Secretary of the Air Force , then toured 45 states and selected their current location after visiting around 580 locations, with the US state of Colorado contributing 1 million US dollars to the purchase of the property. During the construction phase, the first class, consisting of 306 cadets , was housed at Lowry Air Force Base near Denver , Colorado. Hubert R. Harmon, who had been particularly committed to founding the academy, was appointed director from retirement.

In a solemn ceremony on August 29, 1958, 1,145 cadets moved into the new building, while Major General Briggs took over management. At times the number rose to just under 4,400 cadets (1964), but this was reduced to a figure of 4,000 that is still valid today.

The Air Force leadership discussed controversially the admission of female candidates to the academy, which President Gerald Ford granted in October 1975. The first women joined the academy in 1976 and graduated in 1980.

The first black teacher at the Air Force Academy was Harry Lee Morrison from 1961.

On April 1, 2004, the area received the status of a National Historic Landmark for the Cadets as a Historic District . On the same day it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area .

Curriculum

Graduation ceremony

There are the following academic departments :

• Basic Sciences Division
• Engineering Division
• Humanities Division
• Interdisciplinary Majors
• Social Sciences Division

32 major subjects and 9 minor subjects can be studied. After four years of study, the graduates are awarded the degree of a Bachelor of Science , they also receive their officer license and the rank of Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force .

A few graduates can be transferred to other branches of the armed forces or, due to a lack of medical aptitude, only receive the academic degree, but not an officer license.

In 1959, the Harmon Memorial Lectures in Military History were established.

Sports

Quarterback Shea Smith throwing a ball in a college football game.

The Falcon Stadium , located on the grounds of the US Air Force Academy is located is home to the US Air Force Academy - Football teams. Games are played there against football teams from other universities in the USA. The games can be visited by tourists without restrictions.

One curiosity is that when the US Air Force Academy team scores new points , all cadets go from their stands onto the field and do as many push-ups as the team has total points.

tourism

Every year around 1.5 million tourists visit the academy, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Colorado. There is a well-stocked visitor center where you can get souvenirs and learn about the history of the facility. Guided tours for visitors are offered. A B-52 bomber, a planetarium , the Falcons football stadium and a noon meal formation are other stops popular with tourists.

The most noticeable building on the site is probably the multi-denominational Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel with its 17 aluminum spikes. It contains separate rooms for followers of several faiths, so it is not a Christian church in the strict sense. The Protestant chapel is located on the upper floor, while the Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist prayer rooms are spread across the lower floor.

Others

Academy Boulevard, one of the longest and most important streets in Colorado Springs (apart from Interstate Highway 25), is named after the US Air Force Academy and begins with it.

The academy's motto is “ per aspera ad astra ”, literally: “Through the rough to the stars”.

As an Air Force offshoot, the academy also has its own airfield with the IATA code “AFF” and ICAO code “KAFF”.

Well-known graduates

Alonzo Babers , 1983, Olympic Champion Los Angeles 1984 in athletics John Elmer Blaha , 1965, astronaut Michael John Bloomfield , 1981, astronaut Karol Joseph Bobko , 1959, astronaut of Polish descent Eric Allen Boe , 1987, astronaut Grady Booch , 1977, computer scientist and pioneer of software technology Brian Billick , no degree, American football player and coach Roy Dunbard Bridges , 1965, astronaut and former director of the Kennedy Space Center Curtis Brown , 1978, astronaut John Howard Casper , 1965, astronaut Harry Chapin , no degree, singer Kevin P. Chilton , 1976, astronaut and commander of the United States Strategic Command Richard Oswalt Covey , 1969, astronaut Brian Duffy , 1975, astronaut Benjamin Alvin Drew , 1984, astronaut James Patrick Dutton , 1991, astronaut Guy Spence Gardner , 1969, astronaut Ben Garland , 2010, American football player Clarence Gilyard Junior , no degree, actor Alberto R. Gonzales , no degree, former Attorney General Ronald John Grabe , 1966, astronaut Frederick Drew Gregory , 1964, astronaut William George Gregory , 1979, astronaut Sidney McNeill Gutierrez , 1973, astronaut James Donald Halsell , 1978, astronaut

Lloyd Blaine Hammond , 1973, astronaut Susan Jane Helms , 1980, astronaut Chad Hennings , 1987, American football player Terence Thomas Henricks , 1974, astronaut Gregory Harold Johnson , 1984, astronaut Thomas David Jones , 1977, astronaut James McNeal Kelly , 1986, astronaut Kevin Richard Kregel , 1978, astronaut Mark Charles Lee , 1974, astronaut Steven Lindsey , 1982, astronaut Nicole Malachowski , 1996, first female pilot of the Thunderbirds Donald Ray McMonagle , 1974 astronaut Miles O'Keeffe , no degree, actor William Arthur Pailes , 1974, astronaut Gary Eugene Payton , 1971, astronaut Gregg Popovich , 1970, basketball coach Jody Powell , no graduation, White House press secretary under President Jimmy Carter Charles Joseph Precourt , 1977, astronaut Norton A. Schwartz , 1973, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Richard Alan Searfoss , 1978, astronaut Ronald Michael Sega , 1974, astronaut Loren James Shriver , 1967, astronaut Bill Stealey , 1970, entrepreneur Chesley B. Sullenberger , 1973, best known for successfully ditching US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River Charles Lacy Veach , 1966, astronaut Terry Wayne Virts , 1989, astronaut Heather Wilson , 1982, politician

Controversy

The United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations is said to have partly coerced informers at the academy into spying on their fellow students using so-called sex traps, for example in the case of Adam DeRito.

Web links

Commons : United States Air Force Academy  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• Official Site of the US Air Force Academy (English)
• Website of a graduate association (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ GlobalSecurity.org United States Air Force Academy, CO , accessed March 6, 2010
2. ^ O. V .: Setting the Record Straight: The First Black Faculty Member at the United States Air Force Academy , in: The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education , No. 42 (Winter, 2003-2004), p. 58
3. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Colorado. National Park Service , accessed July 20, 2019.
4. ↑ United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed July 31, 2017.
5. ↑ United States Air Force: Dean of Students (English). Accessed March 6, 2010
6. ↑ United States Air Force: Academic Fact Sheet (English). Accessed March 6, 2010
7. ↑ Spiegel Online from February 21, 2014: Spy at the military university: The sex trap

Coordinates: 38 ° 59 ′ 44 ″  N , 104 ° 51 ′ 57 ″  W.