What does the U.S. Air Force Academy mean to its graduates today, and what do they expect from the organization that serves them?

Results from the 2026 graduate survey offer a fresh look at that relationship. The survey explored the factors strengthening or weakening pride and connection, the services and priorities that graduates most value and what graduates want from their alumni association. The survey also asked an increasingly important question: Should advocacy be part of the Association of Graduates’ service-focused mission and, if so, where should the boundaries lie?

The 2026 survey was conducted in March and was open to all graduates. Though it measured progress against 2022 baselines, the survey was intended to give graduates a voice in shaping their AOG’s future.

In all, 8,963 graduates participated in the survey, yielding a 20% response rate, which exceeded the 17% response rate from 2022. The survey consultant, Market Perceptions, weighted the data by graduation decade and sex to represent the graduate population. The margin of sampling error for the total sample was approximately +/- 1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level.

The study also generated extensive qualitative feedback. More than 7,000 graduates answered each of the open-ended questions about what makes them most and least proud of USAFA, and more than 3,600 described additional priorities for the next three years. These comments were systematically coded and analyzed alongside the quantitative results.

Key findings from the survey included:

More than seven in 10 graduates (73%) rate their pride in the Academy at 7 or higher on a 10-point scale, with one-third (34%) giving it the highest ratings of 9 or 10. While these measures are somewhat lower than in 2022, the findings affirm that a strong sense of pride remains a defining part of the graduate experience.

Meanwhile, 79% continue to identify with one of the three pride-oriented personas: Actively Engaged and Connecting, Proud and Show It or Inwardly Proud. The persona distribution was nearly identical to 2022, suggesting that, while attitudes may shift over time, a formative relationship endures.

Graduates’ strongest sources of pride are rooted in what USAFA asked of them and what it helped them become. This is more than nostalgia at work. Pride is grounded in formation: the challenge they completed as cadets, the standards internalized and carried through as graduates, the service they rendered in and out of uniform and the bonds forged through those experiences.

Broadly coded comments most often referenced prestige, honor and tradition (44%); completing a challenging and rigorous program (41%); and the people, friendships and shared experiences that came with the Academy (38%).

At the more detailed level, graduates repeatedly cited academic and military excellence, service, integrity, high standards and the accomplishment of joining the Long Blue Line.

Overall opinion of the AOG changed little from 2022: in the 2026 survey, 41% rated it positively at 7-10, and 15% gave a rating of 9 or 10. Six in ten graduates said they were at least somewhat familiar with the Association & Foundation’s joint mission.

When asked to rank potential AOG priorities, graduates placed support for cadets and the Academy first, with 61% ranking it first or second. Preservation of heritage and tradition followed at 54%. Career support, communication, networking and support for chapters and shared-interest groups were also valued, but none approached the same level.

What graduates want from their AOG tends to vary by generation. Older graduates place more weight on heritage, tradition, communication, honor and military preparation. Newer graduates, active-duty graduates and female graduates more often prioritize cadet support, career support and connection. Across the survey, graduates also expressed a desire for an apolitical and nonpartisan military culture.

When asked a series of questions about advocacy, graduates clearly placed the AOG’s service mission at the center. On average, graduates would devote 76% of the AOG’s time and resources to service and 24% to advocacy. When presented with choices about the appropriate scope of advocacy, about three in ten graduates preferred that the AOG not engage in public-policy advocacy, while about half said any advocacy should remain focused primarily on graduate services and supporting the Academy. Together, those views represented approximately 80% of respondents.

“Graduates have told us that their connection to the Academy remains strong, and they want that connection to be meaningful,” says Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99, senior vice president of engagement and a parent of two USAFA cadets. “They want us to listen, communicate, create opportunities to connect and, above all, continue supporting the Academy and the cadets who will carry the mission forward. These results give us a valuable roadmap for how we can serve graduates well while honoring the traditions and purpose that bind the Long Blue Line together. We thank all who participated.”

Both the Association of Graduates and Air Force Academy Foundation boards of directors, as well as the NextGen Advisory Council, reviewed and discussed the survey results prior to their July meetings. The results will help inform the AOG’s strategic priorities moving forward, as they did in 2022 with the creation of a 2023-2028 joint strategic plan for the AOG and the Foundation.

Market Perceptions, Inc. (MPI) is an independent research and consulting firm that helps organizations understand the people they serve, identify what is changing, and use those insights to make better decisions.

For more than 30 years, MPI has designed and conducted research across a wide range of public- and private-sector settings. Our work spans qualitative and quantitative research, program and communications evaluation, segmentation, needs assessments,tracking studies, and complex survey research.

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