Cadets visit local asphalt plant during field engineering course

Cadet 2nd Class Christopher Twigg studies an informational handout on concrete during a visit to the Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt plant in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 10, 2011. The plant produces both concrete and asphalt for construction projects on military bases in the local area, inlcuding the Academy, Peterson Air Force Base and Fort Carson. Cadet Twigg, a member of Cadet Squadron 14, toured the plant with classmates as part of the Academy's Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Cadets visit local asphalt plant during field engineering course

Cadets enrolled in the Air Force Academy's Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory check out a 200-foot-deep sand quarry during a field trip to Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 10, 2011. FERL is a three-week summer course required for cadets majoring in civil or bioenvironmental engineering. It is an elective course for cadets majoring in mechanical or electrical engineering. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Cadets visit local asphalt plant during field engineering course

U.S. Military Academy Cadet Jeff Warner examines an asphalt sample during a tour of the Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt plant in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 10, 2011. The visit is part of the Air Force Academy's Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory, a three-week summer course required for cadets majoring in civil or bioenvironmental engineering. Cadet Warner is attending the Air Force Academy via an exchange program with West Point. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Cadets visit local asphalt plant during field engineering course

Cadets 2nd Class Anthony Vahling, left, and Ezra Petersen check out a sample of asphalt while touring the Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt plant in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 10, 2011. The plant tour is part of the Air Force Academy's Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory, a three-week summer course required for cadets majoring in civil or bioenvironmental engineering. Cadet Vahling, a native of Teutopolis, Ill., is assigned to Cadet Squadron 17. Cadet Petersen, a native of Wichita, Kan., is assigned to Cadet Squadron 10. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

High school students wake up to Academy experience

Air Force Academy Summer Seminar attendees perform push-ups shortly after their abrupt wake-up call during the seminar's first day June 7, 2011. The Academy offers the three-day seminar annually to approximately 1,100 high school juniors and seniors from around the United States, immersing them in the military, academic and physical rigors they will face should they accept an appointment. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

High school students wake up to Academy experience

Cadet 2nd Class Bryant Mateus, right, motivates high school students during the first full day of Summer Seminar at the Air Force Academy June 7, 2011. The Academy offers three such seminars between graduation and inprocessing to approximately 1,100 high school juniors and seniors per year. Cadet Mateus, one of the Summer Seminar element leaders, is assigned to Cadet Squadron 17. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Staff Sgt. Aziz

Staff Sgt. Earnest Aziz, 10th Surgical Operations Squadron

New 'milkstool' design may save dollars, backs

Loadmasters and a crew from the 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron at Sather Air Base, Iraq, load a baggage pallet onto a C-130 Hercules June 3, 2008. Sitting on the C-130's cargo ramp is a "milkstool": a ramp support platform that may, in coming years, be replaced with a more lightweight version designed by Air Force Academy cadets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)

Cadets, guests, mingle at the Otis House.

Cadets and their dates mingle on the back porch of the Air Force Academy's Otis House, official residence of the commandant of cadets. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Ray McCoy)

Memorial Day 2011

Air Force leaders issued a Memorial Day statement to Airmen and their families May 24, 2011. In this photo, Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould presents Larry and Joyce Brodeur with a flag during the May 17, 2011, funeral service for Maj. David Brodeaur, a 1999 Academy graduate who was killed April 27 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

Air Force Academy Graduation 2011

Cadet 1st Class Matt Markling, diploma in hand, prepares to put on his new second lieutenant shoulder boards during the Air Force Academy's graduation ceremony May 25, 2011, at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. Cadet Marking was one of 1,021 cadets to become Air Force officers at the ceremony's conclusion. (Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

Secretary Donley congratulates new officers at AFA commencement

Newly commissioned second lieutenants celebrate at the end of the Air Force Academy's Class of 2011 graduation ceremony May 25, 2011, as the Thunderbirds U.S. Air Force Aerial Demonstration Squadron fly overhead. More than 1,000 cadets received their diplomas during the commencement. (U.S. Air Force photo/Bill Evans)