Commentaries

  • Patriot Day Message

    1. Tomorrow, September 11th, marks the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In the days and weeks that followed that fateful morning, we witnessed the strength,

  • Labor Day Message

      1. On Monday, we celebrate the contributions of the American workforce to our nation’s success and prosperity. Our country and our Air Force have the most creative, innovative, and talented workers in the world. 2. In 1894, Congress designated the first Monday of September a federal holiday. The

  • Academy Athletics Department starts monthly newsletter

    I'm excited to introduce a series of monthly letters from the Athletics Department. I will take this opportunity to keep you posted on our progress as we move forward with our mission of forging leaders of character for our Air Force and our nation.In this first installment, I would like to recap my

  • More than an oath: understanding honor in the profession of arms

    A tired group of basic cadets shuffled into a Fairchild Hall lecture room at the Air Force Academy in July to engage in questions and discuss the road ahead as cadets and future officers with the former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, retired Gen. Kevin Chilton. Chilton and dozens of volunteer

  • Roll Call: This is your Air Force

    Airpower is not a solo effort. One leader does not win a war, one pilot does not bomb every target, one loadmaster does not supply the entire fight. Airpower will always be a team effort and together, we are the world's greatest airpower team.The global vigilance, reach and power we provide for our

  • Coast Guard Birthday

      1. Today, the United States Coast Guard celebrates its 225th birthday. 2. The Coast Guard legacy dates back to 4 August 1790, when President George Washington signed the Tariff Act authorizing construction of ten vessels to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling. The Coast

  • 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

  • Air Force's 'youngest instructors' continue Academy's flying legacy

    Last spring, we celebrated the Air Force Academy's Class of 2015 graduation. These new second lieutenants now shape the future of our Air Force, just like their ROTC and officer training school brethren.At the same time, overshadowed by the limelight of graduation, a small group of sophomore cadets

  • 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

  • Independence Day

    1. Our nation is more secure today because of outstanding Americans, like you, who believe in these United States of America. On July 4, 1776, our forefathers signed the historic Declaration of Independence. In the last paragraph of that monumental document, they declared that "these united colonies