1 Jun 2017

Diversity of force shows in Class of '17

In events throughout the Pikes Peak region over the past week, our community celebrated Armed Forces Week, where we paid tribute to the men and women who serve in all branches of the U.S. armed forces. I was privileged to attend many of these events, and was once again reminded of what an exceptional place Colorado Springs is to live, work, learn

14 Jul 2015

U.S. Air Force Academy strives to attract cadets with growth mindset

The growth mindset and a bus ride.Pamela Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, recently gave remarks at our Air Force Academy Outstanding Academy Educator Awards Ceremony, a ceremony that recognizes the best educators at the academy.Shockley-Zalabak spoke about the need to engender a "growth" mindset

15 Jun 2015

840 graduating Air Force second lieutenants serve as inspiration

Air Force Academy graduation - 840 inspirational stories!Last month, our Air Force Academy launched our 57th graduating class, to lead and serve our Air Force and our nation. As each new second lieutenant stepped before me, I could feel a sense of accomplishment radiating as he or she shook my hand, saluted, and stepped off to begin a life of

6 Jun 2015

Proud to go beyond the horizon

As a rural latchkey kid growing up in Iowa in the 1970s, I used to climb on the rooftops of our farm buildings with my German shepherd and look out at the endless horizon beyond the corn fields. You could see the curvature of the earth and just beyond was a world that I yearned to explore. The tough thing for a young woman to figure out in those

21 May 2015

Remembering the Air Force's Lt. Gen. Harmon: A lifetime of discovery, learning and service

The United State Air Force Academy is perched just northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado at 7,250 feet above sea level.  It stands in the shadow of Pike's Peak, the mountain that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write "America, The Beautiful" in 1913.  Visit, or even just drive by the Academy on the interstate, and you'll be equally inspired by

14 May 2015

USAF Academy Superintendent: Cadets must learn to lead with - and without - directions

My husband and I have twin 12-year-old boys, perhaps a rarity for a woman in my position - three-star Air Force general and superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy. However, one recent weekend my boys helped crystalize for me some of the work we're doing to modernize the education and training experiences at USAFA.The boys redirected

12 May 2015

Sexual Assault Prevention & Response at Federal Service Academies

Commentary by Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson, U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent, Vice Adm. Walter E. Carter Jr., U.S. Naval Academy superintendent, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, U.S. Military Academy, Rear Adm. James A. Helis, U.S. Merchant MArin Academy superintendent, The U.S. Service Academies

11 May 2015

Air Force Academy offers muscle confusion for the mind

Many readers have heard about disruptive innovation -- a change that creates an entirely new way of doing business. Exponential energy, driverless vehicles and wearable technology are all examples. Indeed, it seems I cannot meet five people without most of them wearing some form of technology. Even my command chief master sergeant, a combat veteran