Election Information
Watch a video featuring Cathy McClain, Association of Graduates board chair, explaining the upcoming AOG election. AOG members will be voting on an important bylaw change Feb. 4, 2019, through March 18, 2019, and reaching the required quorum of 25% will be essential.

Go Air Force! Beat Army!!
On Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, at noon ET, Air Force plays Army in the biggest game of the Falcon's football season. After beating Navy earlier this year, the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is ours for the taking at Army!

• TV: CBS Sports Network
• Cheer with fellow fans around the world online during the game using hashtag #GoAirForce

General Public Has 2 Months to See Cadet Chapel Before Renovations Begin
The Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy will close Jan. 1, 2019, for at least four years for necessary renovations and repairs. Visitors have two months to visit this registered National Historic Landmark and Colorado's number one man-made attraction before the preservation and restoration repairs begins. Learn more about the Chapel and the extent of the renovations.

Goodwin: Academy Cadets Helping Find Solutions
Doolittle Hall played host to the quarterly Commandant's Update Monday afternoon, Oct. 29, 2018. Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin '93 talked about a wide range of topics in front of United States Air Force Academy alumni, family members and friends.

Cadet for a Day Ryleigh Reports for Duty
Ryleigh is a curious, rambunctious 8-year-old living with cystic fibrosis. The Air Force Academy, through its partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, hosted her and her family for a day of fun and learning.

7258' — Your Association at Work
Read the latest issue of the AOG's newsletter.

Class of '93 Presents 25th Reunion Gift to USAFA
The Class of '93 highlighted its 25th reunion with a gift of $93,000 to support the National Character and Leadership Symposium (NCLS). The gift to the Class of '93 NCLS Panel Fund will provide funding to bring several outstanding airmen to the Academy to meet with the Cadet Wing and serve on a discussion panel at the annual event.

Observatory Update
A massive crane arrived to lift the Academy's Apollo-era telescope from the observatory to make room for the new one-meter telescope that is scheduled to arrive from Austria a year from now. "This is the way of the future for space-science research," says Dr. Devin Della-Rose, the director of Academy's Astronomical Research Group and Observatory.

Giving Time and Treasure
Academy graduate Larry Fariss '75 and his wife, Michelle, have a long history of supporting the Academy with their time, including sponsoring 25 cadets. Today, they are focusing on giving not only time but also treasure to help elevate the cadet experience. Read more about their commitment to enhancing the Long Blue Line.

The End is Near!
It's not too early. Maximize your year-end giving to the Air Force Academy by following the simple tips in the "End of Year Giving Guide" provided by the USAFA Endowment.

One of First African-American USAFA Grads Dies
Col. (Ret.) Isaac "Ike" Payne IV, Class of 1963, one of the first African-American men to graduate from USAFA. Roger Sims, Charles V. Bush and Payne were the first three African-American cadets to be admitted to the Academy in 1959, and they went on to graduate in 1963. Payne was the last surviving member of that groundbreaking trio.

Grad Named Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff
In her position, Pamela Powers '89 is the senior advisor to the secretary and deputy secretary in the federal government's second-largest Cabinet department.

'Start Now': Air Force Academy Prep School's Vice Commander Says Cadet Candidate Experience Can Lead to Success
Lt. Col. Calvin Daniels '96 developed what might seem like small habits as a cadet candidate at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School in 1991. Throughout the years, these habits have worked themselves into a schedule of success. Daniels now oversees the school as its vice commander, helping shape the future leadership of the Air Force.

Boxing Lessons for the Cyber Realm
When Col. Jaak Tarien graduated from the United States Air Force Academy as a member of the Class of 1998, he never envisioned becoming a world-renowned expert on cyber security.

Defending the Ice Twice
Capt. Stephen Caple '12, 821st Support Squadron Civil Engineer flight commander at Thule Air Base, Greenland, has been defending the ice for the Air Force since 2008 when he enrolled at the U.S. Air Force Academy and played goalie for their National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program.

A Launchpad for Dreams
As the years went by in school, college and the Air Force, Eric Boe's affinity for and connection to space strengthened. And then, in 2000, Boe '87 was selected by NASA to be an astronaut. Since then, he has piloted two Space Shuttles. And now, Boe, 54, is one of the astronauts chosen to fly on commercial spacecraft and be among the first American astronauts to launch from U.S. soil since 2011.

Research at the Academy is Unparalleled Among Undergraduate Institutions
The United States Air Force Academy is a cutting edge academic and military institution where innovation, warrior ethos and character development are a foundation of our heritage and the guiding priorities of our future.

Academy Hosts Cadets from 27 Countries During International Week
Hosted each year by the Academy's International Program staff and cadets, International Week gives cadets and officers from around the globe a chance to mingle and discuss their own academy experiences.

Air Force Academy Hosts State Dept. Gender Forum
Several influential women from outside the U.S. stopped by the Air Force Academy Oct. 19 to talk about gender issues with a panel of Academy women.

Air Force Academy Cadets Take 1st Place at Mock Trial Competition in Washington
Air Force took first place in the Bulldog Brawl Invitational, a two-day mock trial tournament hosted by Gonzaga University, Washington, Oct. 20-21. The competition at the Spokane County Superior Courthouse featured six competing schools fielding 12 mock-trial teams.

Cadets Earn Bronze Medal at Genetic Research Competition in Boston
Air Force Academy cadets took third-place with a research project that has the potential to curb fungal infections often found in bullet or shrapnel wounds and other traumatic injuries.

New Painting at Air Force Academy Tells Story of War, Teamwork
World War II veteran Oscar Fitzhenry wanted Air Force Academy cadets to learn a lesson he picked up during 64 combat missions aboard a four-engine B-24 Liberator bomber. War and life, the retired lieutenant colonel said, are a team sport.

Cadet Volunteer Coaches Children's Soccer Team
Sara Burton, a junior cadet at the Air Force Academy, grew up in a soccer family, the daughter of a soccer coach and one of five siblings who all played the sport. She's now come full circle as a volunteer youth soccer coach with the Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation Department.

Air Force's 1998 Football Team Joins Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame Class
The 1998 Air Force football team went 12-1 and finished No. 13 in the final Associated Press poll after downing Washington 45-25 in the Oahu Bowl. By any measure, it was the best service academy team in the past 30 years.

Men Second, Women Third at MW Championships
The Air Force cross country team kicked off the championship portion of its season with top-three finishes at the 2018 Mountain West Championships in San Diego. The 16th-ranked men used a strong push in the final 2,000 meters to finish second in the team standings, while the women finished third — only trailing two of the top-three teams in the country.

Meet Esther Kim, the Clark Kent of Martial Arts
At 21, Esther Kim already has won two national women's championships in kendo, the Japanese martial art in which combatants duel like samurai using bamboo swords. Kim has been on two U.S. national teams at the world championships and won four junior national titles before her first women's championship at age 16 in 2014. Now a senior cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Kim is a force in any tournament she enters.