When I first visited Colorado (specifically, "the Springs", this was a "MUST SEE" destination on my list (along with the US Olympic Training Center)! Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado boasts the prestigious US Air Force Academy (the youngest of 5 United States service academies + ranked #28 school in liberal arts colleges across America). Surrounded by a humbling view of the Rockies, the US Air Force Academy boasts one of the top tourist destinations in Colorado with over a million visitors a year! So, I'm one in a million! (wink)
See more interesting architecture below...
Lovely statues all over the campus...
Sweet airmen cadets helping a sister navigate the campus...
What is the US Air Force Academy?
It's one of the most selective colleges (tied for 5th place) in the US for people who want to be officers of the US Air Force (graduating as 2nd Lieutenants).
To be eligible to enter the Academy, a candidate must:
Be unmarried with zero dependents
Be of good moral character
Be at least 17 but no older than 23 by July 1st of that year
Be a citizen of the United States
Meet top leadership, academic, physical + medical standards (physical standards for example: pushups: 62 for men/41 for women; One mile run: 6:29 for men/7:30 for women....
Some interesting facts:
There is an 8:1 student faculty ratio!
Elevation: 7,258 feet above sea level
There are 30 programs of study!
Campus size is 18,500 acres making it the 2nd-largest campus (28.906 square miles or the size of Ann Arbor, Michigan!)
The class of 2020 was the first to graduate officers into the US Space Force.
There is an 11% acceptance rate + a 79% graduation rate.
October 7, 1975 (only 4 years before I was born) then-President Ford signed a law allowing females to study at service academies. The first female entered the US Air Force Academy in 1976!
The first honor scandal happened in 1965 when more than 100 cadets were caught in a cheating ring. All of them had to immediately leave. There were similar scandals in '67, '72, '84, 04, and '07.
POP QUIZ! Time to put on your thinking cap!
Two of our past presidents were airmen and graduated from this prestigious academy! Can you guess? Leave me a comment with your answer!
The Cadet Honor Oath, located in the Honor Code Handbook:
We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate anyone among us who does. Furthermore, I will resolve to do my duty and to live honorably, (so help me God).
Motto:
Integrity first, Service before self, Excellence in all that we do
[Me] at the Cadet Chapel on the Air Force Academy base. Side note: I miss these REI sunnies so hard (playing TAPS in my head for these). I have no idea what happened to them. But per usual, in this photo, they are smeared with with sunscreen (such is my life with Euro skin in the desert).
When you visit, you cannot help but notice perhaps the coolest building on the entire campus...the Cadet Chapel. Constructed in 1959, it's such an optical illusion! Here are a few things to know about this chapel:
Completed in 1963, it took 4 years and $3.5 million in efforts...
The frame is constructed from 100 identical tetrahedrons weighing 5 tons a piece.
It's visible from the interstate over 25 miles away!
You probably would not want to attempt to pole vault over it. OUCH! Towering 150 feet into the Colorado blue skies, it has a total of 17 spires. However, it was originally intended to have a total of 21. Due to budget constraints when the construction began, the chapel was redesigned to have 17 total spires.
This bad boy hosts over half a millions visitors annually!
The Cadet Chapel has three levels and can host 5 services simultaneously (with separate entrances)!
The Cadet Chapel hosts an average of 100 cadet weddings post graduation.
At first the Chapel was highly controversial. But, now it's well accepted. The top floor is the Protestant chapel. The middle floor is the Catholic chapel. And, the lower floor houses a Muslim prayer room and the Jewish chapel which features the famous "Holocaust Scroll"...
The Cadet Chapel under construction, 1959
The interior! WOW, no?
Okay, so if you've made it this far, let's dig into the cool stuff...
November 1, 2019, 500 drones met in the sky over Colorado Springs to produce a light show. There were over 6,000 spectators
Click here to see the light show!
Could the US government stage an alien invasion? Ummmm, yea, did you click on that link?
Anyways, these drones weighed less than a pound and were covered in LED lighting:
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Have a wonderful day, guys! Stay hydrated by drinking water like a fat kid eats cake? Can I even say that now? I don't even know anymore...
Love,
Kimmie
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