Celebrating Founders Day Today
Sixty-seven years ago today — 1 April 1954 — President Dwight Eisenhower signed Public Law 325, 83rd Congress, Second Session, the legislation that established the Air Force Academy. The date eventually came to be known as Founders Day and is celebrated as the Academy's official anniversary.

Join the Association of Graduates and the Air Force Academy Foundation as we celebrate this important day with a special video program. We have been posting Academy heritage videos all week long in honor of our anniversary, and arranged them all in one place on our website so you can watch and celebrate with us.

Heritage Minute: Lowry AFB (Founders Day Special)
In honor of our weeklong Founders Day celebration, Steve Simon '77 is taking us back to where it all began — Lowry Air Force Base. Discover the history behind the Air Force Academy's original home, and see what still remains of the former base, in this special episode of Heritage Minute!

7258' — Your Association at Work
Read the latest issue of the AOG's newsletter, especially if you missed the 2021 election results.

2021 All Academy Challenge
The 2021 All Academy Challenge will take place May 16-20. The All Academy Challenge is a friendly online giving competition among the five service academies, challenging each to achieve the highest giving percentage among its graduate community. The challenge is a meaningful time to make an annual contribution of any size. Through the challenge, graduates make a positive impact on the Air Force Academy, its cadets and its graduates. Add the All Academy Challenge to your calendar.

Cadet Perspectives on NCLS
The National Character and Leadership Symposium team created a short video highlighting cadet perspectives on the impact NCLS has on audience members and those who help plan it. NCLS is supported, in part, by donors.

Winter 2021 JCLD
The Winter 2021 Journal of Character and Leadership Development was released the week before the National Character and Leadership Symposium in February. The articles in this edition of the donor-supported journal intentionally align with the 2021 NCLS theme focused on Warrior Ethos.

USAFA Superintendent Names Institute for Future Conflict Director
U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark '86 selected retired Lt. Gen. Bradford Shwedo '87 to become the first director of the Academy's newly established Institute for Future Conflict. Shwedo commanded the 25th Air Force, in charge of all Air Force Intelligence operations, before being named as the Headquarters Air Force's chief of Information Dominance and its chief information officer. Shwedo retired as the Joint Staff director for Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber and its chief information officer.

USAFA Graduates Selected as Olmsted Scholars
The Olmsted Foundation's Board of Directors recently selected six graduates of the Air Force Academy as members of the Olmsted Scholar Class of 2022.

Recruiting Squadron Commander Wins Lance P. Sijan U.S. Air Force Leadership Award
The 330th Recruiting Squadron gained a new commander this year and he just happens to be the winner of the 2020 Lance P. Sijan U.S. Air Force Leadership Award in the senior officer category. Lt. Col. Steven Cooper '04 earned the award while assigned as the commander of the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron.

Women in Leadership: Brig. Gen. Jennifer Hammerstedt
As a leader, Brig. Gen. Jennifer Hammerstedt '96 says it's important that people who are part of the mission feel valued and want to come to work. She adds that her success as a leader at Robins Air Force Base is because of her strong leadership team.

Delivery Of The First F-15EX To The U.S. Air Force
Lt. Col. Richard Turner '03, commander of the 40th Flight Test Squadron, and Lt. Col. Jacob Lindaman '03, commander of the 85th Test & Evaluation Squadron, delivered the first F-15EX to its new home station, Eglin AFB, Florida

Former Air Force Chief of Staff Goldfein Named Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins APL
As a senior fellow, Gen. David L. Goldfein '83 will share expertise to help maximize Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's technological contributions to critical national challenges, including readiness, strategic deterrence and space operations.

Fly Girls: Women in the 446th AW Share Why They Wanted to Fly
Lt. Col. Rachel Metzgar '98, a pilot assigned to the 97th AS and former competitive swimmer, took the opportunity to fly with one thing in mind — no regrets.

She's Proud to Serve and Says to Women — "Be Strong"
"I wanted to do something noble with my life," 1st Lt. Kyra Schmidt '17 began when talking about her reason for joining the military. The U.S. Air Force Academy graduate is a developmental engineer assigned to the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate located on Kirtland Air Force Base.

Claim Your Alumni Artwork
The Fine Arts Department at USAFA is working to return unidentifiable art to alumni. Artists have until May 7th to claim their art for storage or pickup.

Academy's Schulte Assembly Increases 'Critical Conversations' at AF Women's Air and Space Power Symposium
A panel of Air Force Academy women took part in the Air Force Women's Air and Space Power Symposium March 10 to discuss the service's move toward diversity and inclusion. The Academy's Schulte Assembly is named after 1st Lt. Roslyn Schulte '06, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2009.

Discussing War: Academy Cadets Get Senior Officials' Perspectives of U.S. Combat Operations
Cadets studying history at the Air Force Academy spent time with national strategy experts earlier this year to discuss the American way of war. Their assignment was part of Lt. Col. Ryan Menath '01's "American Way of War" class, designed to spark critical analysis about modern war fighting.

• Earlier this year, we brought grads into one of Lt. Col. Menath's virtual lessons with ZoomieClass.

Air Force Announces Eighth Athletics Hall of Fame Class
Air Force Athletics announced its eighth class for induction into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame. The class includes basketball's second all-time leading scorer Otis Jones '95, football All-American and wrestling NCAA qualifier Terry Maki '87, rifle All-American Robin Orth '96, women's tennis singles national champion Laura Simmons-Bergstrom '94, former director of athletics Randy Spetman '76 and the 2004 Mountain West men's basketball championship team. The inductees will be honored later this fall.