Almost all of the Air Force Academy football games are televised, drawing large national audiences.  ----more----

For most of those viewers, Falcon Stadium is their primary view of the Academy.  Consequently, it is important that the facility help tell the story of the Academy and the Air Force.  That was the rationale behind recent efforts to utilize the stadium as a venue to inform and inspire fans.  Air Force and Academy leaders and historians adopted an idea already in use at the Naval Academy’s War Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, in which they display the names of some of their most historic events.  Phase I of the Air Force Academy’s signage project is in place, highlighting five major air campaigns:  Berlin Airlift, the 1948–1949 operation to supply Berlin with food and other supplies after the Soviet Union blockaded the city, closing all road and rail links;  Allied Force, the 1999 air campaign in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War;  Inherent Resolve, the 2014 campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria;  Desert Storm, the 1991 operation to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation;  and Linebacker II, the December 1972 bombing campaign to force North Vietnam leadership to agree to a peace treaty.  Phase II of the Falcon Stadium heritage project could add an additional 20 campaigns.  In addition to that signage, depictions of the forty cadet squadrons’ patches were added to the tunnel used by the teams.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of Ryan Hall and the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

Before there was an Air Force Academy, the 18,500 acres that now host USAFA had a few settlements, most notably the small community called Husted.  ----more----

Located just south of the Academy’s North Gate bridge along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and the New Santa Fe Regional Trail, Husted began in the early 1870s.  Railroaders and citizens of the area chose to name the community after local lumberman Calvin Husted.  Husted grew into an important stop on the Santa Fe and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroads, with a grocery store, a café, a church and a school.  Residents included railroad workers, ranchers and entrepreneurs.  One descendent of these pioneers, David McAloy, graduated from the Academy in 2003.  Sadly, Husted was the site of a horrible tragedy.  On 14 August 1909, two passenger trains collided head-on.  Twelve people were killed and another 42 were injured. Incidentally, one of those killed was train crewmember James A. Gossage, grandfather of future Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rick “Goose” Gossage.  As long as trains were the primary mode of transportation, Husted thrived.  In the 1920s, however, progress overtook the town.  The automobile began to supplant the railroad, and a new highway, U.S. 85-87 – now Interstate-25 – was built.  With that, the town began to fade away.  In fact, by the time the Academy was being planned in 1954, it was virtually a ghost town.  The only remaining Husted building is the Reynolds House, built in 1894, near what is now the Western Museum of Mining and Industry.  The land in and around Husted did make one more contribution, however, serving as the location of the concrete plant that supported the construction of the Cadet Area.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

The Sabre Society came into existence 30 years ago when the Air Force Academy joined with the Association of Graduates in 1995 to sign a MOU. ----more----

Thus the Sabre Society was established. Since then, a great many programs have been funded benefiting USAFA and its cadets. Join founder, Col. (Ret.) John Kelly ’65 and Heritage Minute Special host Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steve Simon ’77 for an inside look at the organization.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

Best known for the “Run to the Rock,” a key rite-of-passage milestone in Doolie-year training, Cathedral Rock, has an interesting history.

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The imposing 120-foot high formation is made of volcanic clay and sandstone.  The geologic wonder at the west end of Jacks Valley has had, and continues to have, importance to Native American tribes.  Later, pioneers would visit the site.  Many of them would literally “sign in,” carefully carving their names or initials into the hardened clay, sometimes adding a date.  For example, Lewis Flegell was a pioneer who lived during the 1870s in what today is Douglass Valley.  He signed the rock numerous times.  Mr. Jerome C. Kinner signed the rock in 1921.  He had a general store and gas station in the now-ghost town of Husted near what today is the North Gate.  Albert and Jeannine Bishop lived near Cathedral Rock in the late 1800s.  They not only carved their names, but added a little heart and their three children’s names: Oscar, Lillian and Phineas.  Jack Anthony, Class of ‘78, and archeologist Dr. Bill Arbogast of the University of Colorado are among the researchers who have studied the many pioneer signatures on the rock, a section of which Jack calls “Signature Wall.”  Unfortunately, like the nearby flatiron, Cathedral Rock is off limits to visitors.  It is near the firing range, and the layers of sandstone are easily damaged, making it an environmentally and culturally sensitive area.  Despite that, Cathedral Rock remains a cherished Academy landmark.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

One of the Academy’s best, and mostly unknown, historical artifacts is located on the campus of the Air Force Academy Preparatory School.  The North American F-100 Super Sabre aircraft on static display here has an amazing history. ----more----

First, some background:  On May twenty-first, 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh landed his aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic.  The flight brought worldwide attention to the capabilities of airplanes, improving the prospects of an Air Force Academy.  Now, fast-forward thirty years.  To commemorate Lindbergh’s achievement, on May twenty-first, 1957, Major Robinson Risner flew this plane, appropriately named the Spirit of St. Louis II, on the same New York-to-Paris route . . . but a little faster.  Risner’s flight took 6 hours and 37 minutes, one-fifth of Lindbergh’s time, and set a new trans-Atlantic record.  The plane has been on display here since 1983.  Incidentally, Major Risner went on to become Brigadier General Risner, best known for his leadership and heroism while a prisoner of war in Vietnam for seven years.  He is the exemplar for the Class of 2021.  A Risner statue, funded by Ross Perot, stands nine feet tall in the Air Garden on the Terrazzo.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

The Academy is home to a large number of impressive static display aircraft.  In addition to those in populated areas, there is one aircraft well off the beaten path, just to the west of the Academy, that predates the others by decades. ----more----

It is a static display of sorts, though decidedly not on purpose.  And it is way up there, on the side of Blodgett Peak.  Let’s go have a look!

The mountain on which the aircraft rests towers over the Academy at the southwest corner of the campus.  It is named for pioneers Aaron and Martha Blodgett, who established a homestead in the Pine Valley area in the 1860s.  Other pioneers said the Blodgetts were kind and helpful, sort of the Pine Valley welcome wagon.  Maybe that’s why the mountain is named after them.

Blodgett Peak reentered Academy consciousness in 2012 when the Waldo Canyon fire spread to Blodgett and forced the Academy to move in-processing from Doolittle Hall, where it had been every year since 1995, to the Field House.

On 23 February 1943, a U.S. Army Air Force C-49J crashed here, on the north face of Blodgett Peak.  Perhaps due to the steepness of the terrain and the remoteness of the wreckage, it was not moved.  Lieutenant Baxter Ireland and two crew members died in the crash, which occurred during a training mission from Denver to Pueblo when Lieutenant Ireland became disoriented in inclement weather.  The War Department’s explanation of the accident was succinct, listing the cause as, “Collision – Other Object.”

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

KAFA, the Academy's cadet-run radio station began broadcasting at 6:57 p.m., under the direction of Cadet John Severski ’71.  ----more----

In early 1971, singer-songwriter Don McLean wrote and recorded one of the most iconic songs in history, “American Pie.” The song addressed the Feb. 3, 1959, death of singer Buddy Holly, describing it as “The Day the Music Died.” While McLean was working on his masterpiece, the Air Force Academy experienced “The Day the Music Was Born.” At 6:57 p.m. on Sunday evening, Jan. 17, 1971, KAFA went on the air for the first time.

- Copy credit, Steve Simon ’77

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

Lots of colleges and universities have radio stations, but there is only one KAFA! ----more----

The station was the brainchild of then-Cadet John Severski, Class of ’71, and came into being only due to the perseverance and ingenuity of John, several other like-minded cadets, and a few supportive USAFA staff members.  It was a classic Do-It-Yourself project, as they begged, borrowed, and scrounged the necessary equipment to build a studio in Vandenberg Hall.  When Academy officials applied for a broadcast license, they requested that the call letters be either KAFA or KDET (pronounced “cadet”).  Obviously, the FCC approved KAFA.  At 6:57 p.m. on 17 January 1971, the station began broadcasting with 10 watts of power at the frequency 89.7 on the FM dial.  Following the National Anthem, the first song played was “Suite Judy Blue Eyes” by Crosby Stills and Nash.  The Superintendent, Lieutenant General A. P. Clark, then delivered a welcome message.

KAFA has undergone changes over the decades, but is still largely as its founders dreamed and designed it.  After going off the air for a time in the 1980s, it has broadcast continuously since 13 February 1989.  The format has varied slightly, but has largely stuck to its rock roots.  The frequency has changed three times due to signal-bleed into commercial stations’ coverage, and is currently broadcasting at 97.7.  Since 1 May 2008, KAFA has been available online, making it accessible to graduates, parents, and other interested listeners anywhere in the world.  Funding for the streaming has been provided by the Association of Graduates since day one.  KAFA has served the Academy community by broadcasting live from significant events such as graduation, in-processing, and even sporting events.

In 2018, after nearly a half-century in Vandenberg Hall, the station moved to this state-of-the-art studio in Fairchild Hall.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

Gen. (Ret.) Steve Lorenz (R) graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1973 and went on to participate in some of the most impactful moments in our nation’s history. Hear a few of his stories in this edition of the Heritage Minute Special podcast with Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steve Simon ’77 (L).

GEN. LORENZ' BIO

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FALCON FOUNDATION

RECOMMENDED READING:  LORENZ ON LEADERSHIP

Nothing speaks better to the subject of effective leadership than the need to develop professionally. General Lorenz believes that leadership is tied to a continuing study of the profession, thus the need for leaders to read. He particularly advocates reading biographies of great leaders. He found that learning from other’s experiences helped keep him from wasting time reinventing the wheel. And reading, like any other leadership development, is a lifetime experience because, as he describes it, “Life is a marathon, not a 50-yard dash.”

 - Copy credit:  Amazon.com

READ "LORENZ ON LEADERSHIP" HERE

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

The Air Force Academy houses one of the largest permanently hung murals in the world.  ----more----

The work of art is located on the north wall of the Cadet Field House multipurpose area.  Forty feet high and 320 feet wide, it consists of four panels.  Each quarter panel is set in a different season and depicts one year in the life of an Air Force Academy cadet.  The first panel portrays the Academy in summer and shows typical events in the life of a Doolie.  Three-degrees, or sophomores, have the autumn; two-degrees winter; and Firsties spring.  The painting shows some of the primary milestone events that take place for each class.  Appropriately enough, it begins with Basic Cadet Training and concludes with Graduation, complete with hats in the air and Thunderbirds flying overhead.  The Honor Code and Core Values are also displayed on the top and bottom of the painting, respectively.  The Class of 1976 commissioned the $50,000 mural, which was painted by Michael Esch.  The design process took more than a year, evolving into a composition that includes military, academic, athletic, and character-development aspects of the Academy curriculum.  With that complete, work on the mural commenced on 21 July 1997 and was completed in October 1997.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation