The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It is the youngest of the five service academies, having graduated its first class 65 years ago in 1959, but is the third in seniority. Graduates of the academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force. The academy is also one of the largest tourist attractions in Colorado, attracting approximately a million visitors each year.
Commandant is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police rank. It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp.
The Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and Air Force Officer Training School (OTS). A subordinate command of the Air University within the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), AFROTC is aligned under the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. The Holm Center, formerly known as the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS), retains direct responsibility for both AFROTC and OTS.
Officer Training School (OTS) is a United States Air Force and United States Space Force commissioning program located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
Australian Army officers receive a commission from the Governor-General of Australia, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. The commission is signed by both the Governor-General and the Minister of Defence. Rank insignia for commissioned officers is identical to that of the British Army, with the addition of a band containing the word "Australia" beneath the insignia.
Dana H. Born is a lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force and was the Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is the first woman to hold that position.
The superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy is the senior officer and commander of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The position is normally held by an active duty Air Force lieutenant general, and is roughly equivalent to the president of a university. Because the Academy is a Direct Reporting Unit, the superintendent reports directly to the Air Force Chief of Staff. The superintendent oversees all aspects of the Academy, including military training, academics, athletics, admissions and the base infrastructure.
Colonel Kim Nichole Reed-Campbell is a retired United States Air Force officer and Command Pilot. She was decorated for piloting her A-10 Thunderbolt II back to base in southern Iraq after taking heavy anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) damage in aerial combat over Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. After her tour of duty in Iraq ended, Campbell gave lectures throughout the United States about her experience, including one at the National Air and Space Museum. Campbell was promoted to the rank of major in 2006.
The Sri Lanka Military Academy, commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It has capacity to train more than 300 cadets.
The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of training at the Nigerian Defence Academy is five years.
Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen.
The United States Air Force Academy Cadet Wing (AFCW) is the student body of the United States Air Force Academy. The students, called "cadets", are divided into four classes, based on their year in school, much like a civilian college. They are not called freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, however, but fourth-, third-, second- and first-class cadets, respectively. Fourth-class cadets (freshmen) are sometimes called "doolies,” in reference to James Doolittle of the Doolittle Raid. Members of the three lower classes are also called "4 degrees", "3 degrees" or "2 degrees" (or "4-degs", 3-degs", and "2-degs" respectively) based on their class. First-class cadets (seniors) are called "firsties". In the military structure of the Cadet Wing, first class cadets hold the positions of cadet officers, second class cadets act as the cadet non-commissioned officers and third-class cadets represent the cadet junior non-commissioned officers.
Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II. The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force, which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947. In the U.S., the term Hispanic categorizes any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million, or 16% of the U.S. population, and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority. The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico, thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1, 2005.
Robert Duane Beckel is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force. He was the commander of the 15th Air Force at March Air Force Base, California.
The Commandant of the National Defence Academy is the head and overall in-charge of the National Defence Academy. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. He is supported by the Deputy Commandant, Brigadier Administration, Principal Director (Training), a Civilian Principal and the Adjutant.
Kristin Elizabeth Goodwin is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force (USAF). A transport pilot after graduating the Air Force Academy, she moved on to bombers before assuming commands. She served as the USAF Academy's commandant of cadets, a post from which she was removed due to an Air Force Inspector General investigation. As of August 2020, she was the chief of staff of the United States Space Force's Space Operations Command.
The Commandant of the Indian Military Academy is a post created in 1932 for the purpose of leading the Indian Military Academy in its education of "gentleman cadets". The Commandant must hold a rank of lieutenant general or above. There is no minimum nor maximum term of service in this position though in practice commandants have served anywhere from a few months to 4 years in the position.
Michele C. Edmondson is a United States Air Force major general who served as the commander of Second Air Force from 2021 to 2024. She most recently served as the Commandant of Cadets for the U.S. Air Force Academy from 2019 to 2021.
Paul Daniel Moga is a United States Air Force major general who has served as the commander of Third Air Force since April 3, 2024. He most recently served as chief of staff of United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa from 2023 to 2024. He previously served as the Commandant of Cadets of the United States Air Force Academy from 2021 to 2023, and as the deputy director for operations of the United States Northern Command.
