Newest Aces honored at Heritage House

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Don Branum
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Thirteen cadets were recognized at the Dean's Heritage House here Sept. 9 for achieving perfect 4.0 academic GPAs during the Spring 2010 semester.

The Fall 2010 Aces List includes nine second-class cadets as well as two third-class cadets and one cadet each from the classes of 2010 and 2011.

Four of the cadets in attendance were double Aces: Cadet 1st Class Jennifer Bandi and Cadets 2nd Class Cody Deacon, Rachel Reeder and Travis Myers. Cadet Bandi earned her second Aces list mention in the Fall 2009 semester but could not attend the previous ceremony.

Among those recognizing the newest aces were Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, Dean of the Faculty Brig. Gen. Dana Born, Commandant of Cadets Brig. Gen. Richard Clark and their spouses.

Almost all of the aces are majoring in highly technical careers, such as astronautical engineering, materials chemistry and physics, General Born said.

"We'll be smarter just by being in a photo with these guys," General Born joked as the officers and cadets assembled for a group photo.

Seven of the cadets who made the Aces List also received the Superintendent's Pin for the Spring 2010 semester. The Superintendent's Pin is awarded to cadets who have earned high military performance averages and upheld a physical education average of at least 3.0 in addition to making the Dean's List. Cadets 3rd Class Austin Howard and Kenneth Montel both earned Superintendent's Pin honors during the spring semester of their fourth-class year.

"It was a struggle, definitely," said Cadet Montel, a native of Divide, Colo. "I got a lot of help from my old Basic Cadet Training squadron, a lot of good friends, and I just tried my hardest. I'm definitely proud to be here."

The most difficult part of earning the honors was staying positive throughout the semester, Cadet Montel said. Repeating the achievement may be more difficult, however, as he enters his third-class year.

"I have seven classes this semester, whereas last semester I only had six," he said. "And the core classes are getting a lot tougher. But at the same time, I don't have to run the strips, so that's definitely nice."

As a reward, the cadets received a four-course meal including a main course of filet mignon. The Academy Research and Development Institute sponsored the meal, with retired Col. Mick Erdle representing the ARDI at the dinner.

FALL 2010 ACES LIST
Name Major Squadron
2nd Lt. Darren Montes Aeronautical Engineering Cadet Squadron 25
Cadet 1st Class Eric Prince Astronautical Engineering Cadet Squadron 26
Cadet 2nd Class Bryan Ashton Civil Engineering Cadet Squadron 29
Cadet 2nd Class Cody Deacon* Aeronautical Engineering Cadet Squadron 34
Cadet 2nd Class Casey Habluetzel Civil Engineering Cadet Squadron 32
Cadet 2nd Class Travis Myers* Materials Chemistry Cadet Squadron 33
Cadet 2nd Class Joshua Nelson Biology Cadet Squadron 28
Cadet 2nd Class Robert Raynor Physics Cadet Squadron 07
Cadet 2nd Class Rachel Reeder* Biology Cadet Squadron 01
Cadet 2nd Class Raymond Revell Foreign Area Studies Cadet Squadron 02
Cadet 2nd Class Jeffrey Schaefer Civil Engineering Cadet Squadron 35
Cadet 3rd Class Austin Howard Mechanical Engineering Cadet Squadron 31
Cadet 3rd Class Kenneth Montel Mechanical Engineering Cadet Squadron 19
* Denotes a double ace