A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a military academy for officer cadets of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is the youngest of the five United States service academies, having graduated its first class 62 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.
Colonel Gary Eugene Payton, USAF, is an American astronaut and USAF Manned Spaceflight Engineer.
Charles Frank Bolden Jr. is a former NASA administrator, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions.
Richard Oswalt Covey is a retired United States Air Force officer, former NASA astronaut, and a member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Robert Aitken "Bob" Rushworth was an American United States Air Force major general, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War pilot, mechanical and aeronautical engineer, test pilot and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. He flew 34 of the program's 199 flights, more than any other pilot.
Robert Michael "Bob" White was an American electrical engineer, test pilot, fighter pilot, and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. As an engineer, he supervised the design and development of several modern military aircraft.
The Air Force Reserve Officer 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.
Raymond Thomas Odierno is a retired four-star general of the United States Army who served as the 38th Chief of Staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odierno commanded United States Joint Forces Command from October 2010 until its disestablishment in August 2011. He served as Commanding General, United States Forces – Iraq and its predecessor, Multi-National Force – Iraq, from September 2008 through September 2010.
Kenneth L. Tallman was a United States Air Force lieutenant general. He was the eighth Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy.
Robert Channing Seamans Jr. was an MIT professor who served as NASA Deputy Administrator and 9th United States Secretary of the Air Force.
Charles Graham "Chuck" Boyd is a retired four-star general of the United States Air Force. Boyd is a highly decorated combat pilot who served in Vietnam and is the only Vietnam War prisoner of war (1966–1973) to reach the four-star rank (1992). His final Air Force assignment was as deputy commander in chief, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 and has remained active in the national security realm, including as a program director of the Council on Foreign Relations and as president of Business Executives for National Security. He is a member of the guiding coalition of the Project on National Security Reform.
Janet Carol Wolfenbarger is a retired United States Air Force four-star general who served as the eighth commander of Air Force Materiel Command from June 5, 2012, to June 8, 2015. She was the first woman to achieve the rank of four-star general in the Air Force. Wolfenbarger retired from the Air Force after over 35 years of service.
Mark Anthony Welsh III is Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and a retired United States Air Force four-star general. Prior to his current role, he served as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate. Prior to that, General Welsh served as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, as the Associate Director for Military Affairs of the Central Intelligence Agency, and as the Vice Commander of Air Education and Training Command. In earlier portions of his career, he served as a fighter pilot and was a commander at the squadron, group and wing level, in addition to assignments in training, operations, intelligence and acquisitions. He also served as the Commandant of the United States Air Force Academy. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, and entered the Air Force in June 1976 as a graduate of the Air Force Academy.
James B. Smith is the former United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Selected by President Barack Obama, he was sworn in on September 16, 2009. He left his post on September 27, 2013.
Susan K. Mashiko is a retired United States Air Force major general who served as the Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia. Her responsibilities include assisting the director and principal deputy director in managing the strategic and tactical operations of the NRO. Also, as the commander, Air Force Space Command Element, she manages all air force personnel and resources assigned to the NRO and serves as the senior adviser to the DNRO on all military matters. Mashiko is the first Japanese American woman to be promoted to flag rank.
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military bases across the world. The program was originally created as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 and later expanded under the 1964 ROTC Vitalization Act.
James Charles McConville is a United States Army general who serves as the 40th chief of staff of the Army. He previously served as the 36th vice chief of staff of the Army from June 16, 2017 to July 26, 2019. Prior to that, he served as the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (G1). He assumed his current assignment on August 9, 2019.
Michael Linnington is the CEO of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) and a retired United States Army Lieutenant General. He has more than 35 years of military experience and was the first permanent Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), served as a Military Deputy under the Secretary of Defense, was the Commanding General of the Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region, the Deputy Commanding General at Fort Benning, GA, Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Policy for the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Kabul, Afghanistan.
John Landrum Martin Jr. was a major general in the United States Air Force. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and flew combat missions in Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers in the China-Burma-India Theater.
