Family members flock to Colorado Springs for Parents' Weekend

A Class of 2015 cadet greets a family member after the Acceptance Day Parade at the Air Force Academy Aug. 3, 2011. Acceptance marks the formal transition of basic cadets into the Cadet Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Sarah Chambers)

AFA's Cadet Interfaith Council accepts president's community service challenge

Cadet 3rd Class Tirzah Prince gathers canned goods to make a box of food at the Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado Aug. 27, 2011. Care and Share was founded approximately 35 years ago and distributed approximately 18.5 million pounds of food throughout Southern Colorado in its 2010 fiscal year. Prince is assigned to Cadet Squadron 29. (U.S. Air Force photo/Sarah Chambers)

AFA's Cadet Interfaith Council accepts president's community service challenge

Cadet 2nd Class Jessica Wong gathers boxed goods to prepare a food package during the Air Force Academy Cadet Interfaith Council's volunteer effort at the Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado Aug. 27, 2011. The Interfaith Council began the monthly volunteer project as part of its plan to participate in the White House's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge. Wong, one of the cadets on the Interfaith Council, is assigned to Cadet Squadron 18. (U.S. Air Force photo/Sarah Chambers)

Academy's Buddhists observe Bodhi Day

Cadet 2nd Class Daniel Dwyer meditates during a Bodhi Day observance at the Air Force Academy's Buddhist Chapel Dec. 8, 2010. Dwyer is one of approximately 12 cadets who regularly attend services with the Vast Refuge Sangha, led by Sensei Sarah Bender of Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Senior Asian, Pacific journalists visit Air Force Academy

Cadet 2nd Class Nathaniel Youd and Cadet 1st Class Philicia Fahrenbruch talk with foreign journalists in the Air Force Academy's visitor center Aug. 22, 2011. The journalists visited the Academy as part of the East-West Center's 2011 Senior Journalists' Seminar. Youd, from Cadet Squadron 13, and Fahrenbruch, from CS 12, represent Mormon and Jewish cadets on the Academy's Cadet Interfaith Council. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

10th Special Forces Group prepares for deployment by training cadets

Cadet 3rd Class Jared Hafich carries a mannequin representing an injured pilot toward a safehouse as other cadets in his fire team provide cover during a training exercise in Jacks Valley's mobile operations in urban terrain training area Aug. 13, 2011. Hafich and the others, all members of the Air Force Academy's cadet combat shooting team, undertook the training as part of a commandant of cadets initiative called Polaris Warrior. Soldiers from Fort Carson's 10th Special Forces Group provided the training. Hafich is assigned to Cadet Squadron 28. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

10th Special Forces Group prepares for deployment by training cadets

Two cadets provide suppressing fire for the rest of their fire team while making their way to a safehouse in Jacks Valley's mobile operations in urban terrain training area during a training exercise Aug. 13, 2011. Soldiers from Fort Carson's 10th Special Forces Group partnered with the Academy for the training initiative, which helped the Soldiers prepare for an upcoming deployment while training cadets in MOUT tactics. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

10th Special Forces Group prepares for deployment by training cadets

Cadet 1st Class Christopher Moede fires on an enemy position during mobile operations in urban terrain training in Jacks Valley at the Air Force Academy Aug. 13, 2011. Soldiers with Fort Carson's 10th Special Forces Group offered the training, both to familiarize cadets with MOUT tactics and to prepare for an upcoming deployment wherein they will train foreign servicemembers. Moede is the cadet chief of safety for Cadet Squadron 35 and is a member of the Academy's cadet combat shooting team. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

10th Special Forces Group prepares for deployment by training cadets

From right: Cadet 3rd Class Jared Hafich and Cadet 1st Class Joseph Springfield make their way toward a safehouse during a training mission in Jacks Valley Aug. 13, 2011. The mannequin on Hafich's shoulders represents a pilot the cadets were sent to rescue. Hafich is assigned to Cadet Squadron 28; Springfield is assigned to CS 07. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Academy cadet lauded for 'quick fix' on deployed B-1B

Cadet 1st Class Joel Noble helped Airmen with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron in Southwest Asia quickly repair a B-1B Lancer that could not fly due to a failed entry hatch bailout rocket while shadowing the squadron as part of Operation Air Force in July 2011. He is a native of Springboro, Ohio, and is assigned to Cadet Squadron 14 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Cadet Wing accepts Class of 2015

Cadet Squadron 37 conducts a dress and review near the end of the Air Force Academy's Acceptance Day Parade Aug. 3, 2011. The dress and review is designed to dismiss the troops in an orderly fashion at the end of the parade. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

Cadet Wing accepts Class of 2015

Members of the Air Force Academy's Class of 2015 march onto Stillman Field along with their cadet cadre to kick off the Acceptance Day Parade Aug. 3, 2011. The parade marks the basic cadets' formal transition into the Academy's Cadet Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

Cadet Wing accepts Class of 2015

Members of the Air Force Academy's Class of 1975 congratulate cadets in the Class of 2015 on their formal acceptance into the Cadet Wing during the Acceptance Day Parade Aug. 3, 2011. The Class of 1975 is the legacy class for the new freshmen. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

Cadet Wing accepts Class of 2015

Members of the Air Force Academy's Class of 2015 receive copies of Contrails from Airmen in their legacy class, the Class of 1975. The basics represented each of the Basic Cadet Squadrons. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

MIA laid to rest at Academy

A funeral procession for Col. Leo Boston drives through an honor cordon in Jacks Valley en route to the Air Force Academy cemetery July 15, 2011. Boston was declared missing in action in Vietnam in 1966 after his A-1E Skyraider disappeared over the Black River in North Vietnam. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

MIA laid to rest at Academy

Basic cadets and cadre members render final honors to Col. Leo Boston, who was missing in action from 1966 to 2011, during a funeral service for Boston at the Air Force Academy July 15, 2011. Boston, a native of Cañon City, Colo., went missing near the Black River in North Vietnam's Son La Province during a mission in an A-1E Skyraider. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

Inprocessing: Today's blur is tomorrow's memory

Airmen with the Air Force Academy's 10th Medical Group create medical records for basic cadets during inprocessing at the Academy June 25, 2011. Agencies with the 10th Air Base Wing provide logistical and personnel support for the one-day processing of more than 1,100 basic cadets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

Inprocessing: Today's blur is tomorrow's memory

Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Zachary Crippen instructs a basic cadet to keep his eyes forward during the bus ride from Doolittle Hall to the Terrazzo June 25, 2011. Cadet Crippen is a cadre member assigned to Cadet Squadron 12. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

USAFA "Deployed Ops"

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 2nd Class Keegan Peckham and USAFA Cadet 2nd Class Elliot Unseth prepare the pallets for bundles by stringing them with fastening straps while working with the U.S. Army Riggers detachment June 18, 2011, in Southwest Asia. Cadets Peckham and Unseth are taking part in "Deployed Ops", a summer program that sends Academy cadets to deployed locations to follow officers in different career fields and to gain an understanding of career responsibilities. (U.S. Air Force photo/Cadet 1st Class Shaina Thompson)

USAFA "Deployed Ops"

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Jordan Wittman pulls on straps to ensure the cargo bundle is securely fastened to the pallet while working with U.S. Army Riggers June 18, 2011, in Southwest Asia. Cadet Wittman is taking part in "Deployed Ops", a summer program that sends Academy cadets to deployed locations to follow officers in different career fields and to gain an understanding of career responsibilities. (U.S. Air Force photo/Cadet 1st Class Shaina Thompson)

Cadets learn about CE deployed ops in readiness lab

Cadet 2nd Class Nicholas Espinoza and Navy Midshipman Clinton Spencer conduct a stress test on a concrete beam during the Air Force Academy's Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory June 7, 2011. The beams are designed to withstand a load of approximately 5,100 pounds per square inch. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ray McCoy)

Cadets learn about CE deployed ops in readiness lab

Cadet 2nd Class Dustin Wilson cuts lumber for a wood structure construction project during the Air Force Academy's Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory June 1, 2011. FERL is a three-week summer course designed to teach cadets how to perform civil and bioenvironmental engineering projects in austere locations. Cadet Wilson is assigned to Cadet Squadron 04. (U.S. Air Force photo/Bill Evans)

Cadets visit local asphalt plant during field engineering course

Jeff Mangone, right, gives cadets from the Air Force Academy a tour of the Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt plant in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 10, 2011. The tour is designed to familiarize cadets attending the Academy's Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory with how to prepare asphalt and concrete. FERL is required for cadets majoring in civil or bioenvironmental engineering and is also open to cadets in mechanical or electrical engineering majors. Mr. Mangone is the Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt plant manager. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)

Cadets visit local asphalt plant during field engineering course

Jeff Mangone describes the process of milling asphalt to Air Force Academy cadets touring the Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt plant in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 10, 2011. The tour is part of the Academy's three-week Field Engineering Readiness Laboratory, which familiarizes cadets in engineering majors with operations in deployed or austere locations. Mr. Mangone, the Rocky Mountain Materials and Asphalt plant manager, has worked for the company approximately 25 years. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum)