June 2026 Checkpoints
In this issue:
- Maj. Gen. Paul Moga ’95 nominated as USAFA’s 23rd superintendent — with promotion to lieutenant general.
- Col. Brandon Tellez ’01 is USAFA’s new commandant of cadets.
- Two grads step into national leadership roles: Col. (Ret.) Matt Anderson ’97 as NASA deputy administrator, and Lt. Col. (Ret.) Dan Edwards ’91 as assistant secretary of transportation.
- Inside Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, where grads are helping shape the mission.
- At the Boneyard, military aircraft go to die — and be regenerated.
- Six USAFA graduates are turning entrepreneurial ideas into reality.
- A close-up look at the Air Force’s new trainer, the Boeing–Saab T-7A Red Hawk — and the grads building its future curriculum.
- Discover the Front Range Consortium and how USAFA fits within this national security and higher education partnership.
- Mark Michalek ’99 is the FBI’s highest-ranking special agent with prior military service.
- Photo highlights: Women’s 50th commemoration, spring CULEX and Class of ’26 graduation.
- Members of the Class of ’26 reflect on commissioning as America approaches its 250th birthday.
- Association & Foundation CEO Mark Hille ’97 writes about our nation’s resilience and the exceptional graduates who have positively impacted the Academy and our country.
- AOG board chair Cathy Almand ’90 reflects on 50 years of women at service academies and on her experience at the USAFA commemoration.
Newsroom and stories
Checkpoints: In Service to Something Larger
Mark Michalek ’99 is a senior leader in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, currently serving as human capital director. In this capacity, Michalek leads enterprise policy and strategy for human resources, security, internal affairs, compliance and training across the Bureau’s 38,000-person global workforce.
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Checkpoints: A New Day
The years of preparation and months of intense activity led to one momentous day — June 28, 1976, when 157 female cadets took their place at the base of the battle ramp alongside their 1,436 male classmates as members of the U. S. Air Force Academy Class of 1980. What followed was the most unique and closely observed year since the Academy opened its doors at Denver’s Lowry Air Force Base in 1955 to greet the Class of 1959.
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Checkpoints: National Security Matters
Some of Colorado’s foremost space researchers gathered in an unassuming conference room at the University of Colorado Boulder in early April to share their expertise with potential academic, industry and military partners. They highlighted their work in hypersonics, space situational awareness, space technologies for the International Space Station and more.
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Checkpoints: Red Hawk Revolution
The U.S. Air Force has relied on the T-38 Talon for six decades. That’s changing as grads at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph get the nascent T-7A program off the ground and share how the system will change pilot training.
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Checkpoints: Regeneration Row
At the U.S. Air Force’s vast Arizona Boneyard, retired warplanes become spare parts, resurrected aircraft and living history. One recent USAFA graduate helps return these grounded jets to the fight.
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Checkpoints: Hemisphere on Alert
From jungle airfields to hemisphere-wide operations, USAFA graduates helped lead a 150-aircraft mission, rebuild Caribbean bases and counter growing global threats.
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Checkpoints: Cleared for takeoff
The long-anticipated Hosmer Visitor Center — an integral part of the TrueNorth Commons development, which includes Hotel Polaris — is scheduled to open outside the Academy’s North Gate in May. It has one mission: Tell the story of the 47-month odyssey from a basic cadet’s first uncertain steps to a life of service that extends far beyond graduation.
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Checkpoints: Mission — Restore
The Association of Graduates board of directors toured the Cadet Chapel restoration Feb. 18. USAFA and Department of War leadership is accelerating efforts to reopen the landmark thanks to streamlined contracting, year-round construction and major structural fixes underway.
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Checkpoints: Vapor's Trail
From Thunderbirds overhead to orbit, Lt. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers ’11 charts a relentless, service-driven ascent skyward.
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Checkpoints: Algorithms at Altitude
Five U.S. Air Force Academy graduates — among many — now work at the leading edge of artificial intelligence, applying military training to technology that’s reshaping how organizations operate. While all are in different environments, their philosophies remain consistent.
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Checkpoints: USAFA grad honored with Silver Star
Lt. Col. William “Skate” Parks ’07 is the most recent airman and U.S. Air Force Academy graduate to earn one of the profession of arms’ rarest commendations. Col. Parks shares the story of his Wild Weasel squadron and their successful mission in March 2025.
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Checkpoints: 50 years of service
U.S. Air Force Academy officials had been preparing for years to seamlessly admit female cadets for when the school would eventually become co-educational. That time arrived in October 1975, when President Gerald Ford signed the bill opening the nation’s service academies to women.
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Checkpoints: Game changer
The U.S. Air Force Academy’s Madera Cyber Innovation Center, dedicated in April 2025, is now fully operational as the home of the Department of Computer and Cyber Sciences and Air Force CyberWorx. Cadets report that the new facility has significantly enhanced their cyber warfare team’s capabilities. Supported by the Class of 1968, the team won the 2025 NSA Cybersecurity Exercise — its fourth victory in six years.
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Checkpoints: Laser-focused
The U.S. Senate confirmed Matthew Lohmeier ’06 as the 29th undersecretary of the Air Force on July 24, giving him a key role in shaping the service’s strategic direction amid rapid global change. He helps oversee a $200 billion budget supporting nearly 700,000 personnel, with a focus on welfare, readiness and modernization. Lohmeier has emphasized his commitment to ensuring airmen and guardians have the tools and support needed to meet emerging threats.
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Checkpoints: Taking flight
U.S. Air Force Academy graduates are increasingly influencing the high-stakes world of taking companies public, bringing integrity and mission-driven leadership from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Their backgrounds in high-pressure operations translate seamlessly into managing the complexity and risk of IPOs as founders, bankers and early-stage investors. Skills forged in the cockpit and on the Terrazzo now guide companies through one of capitalism’s most critical transitions.
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Checkpoints: Guardians at the gateway
Rockets launching over Vandenberg Space Force Base now serve as real-time inspiration and training for new guardians, reflecting the installation’s evolution from a Cold War missile site into a modern spaceport. U.S. Air Force Academy graduates are shaping this transformation as they prepare operators for a domain that has become contested and central to national defense.
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Checkpoints: Space is no longer a sanctuary
Russia and China are rapidly weaponizing space, forcing the U.S. Space Force to defend an increasingly dangerous warfighting domain. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, warns that attacks on satellites — vital to communications, navigation and modern life — could leave the nation blind and defenseless. Leading nearly 15,000 guardians, he urges a new mission focused on protecting the fragile space infrastructure that underpins everyday technology.
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Checkpoints: Mr. Jerome "Jerry" Bruni ’70, Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient
The U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation celebrates this year’s Distinguished Graduate Award winners who were recognized in late July during Long Blue Line Weekend.
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Checkpoints: Gen. (Ret.) William J. “Bill” Begert ’68, Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient
The U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation celebrates this year’s Distinguished Graduate Award winners who were recognized in late July during Long Blue Line Weekend.
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Checkpoints: Leadership Achievement Award Recipients
The U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation celebrates this year’s Leadership Achievement Award winners who were recognized in late July during Long Blue Line Weekend.
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Checkpoints: Young Alumni Excellence Award Recipients
The U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation celebrates this year’s Young Alumni Excellence Award winners who were recognized in late July during Long Blue Line Weekend.
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Checkpoints: Matt Lohmeier '06
On July 24, the United States Senate confirmed former lieutenant colonel Matthew Lohmeier as the 29th Undersecretary of the United States Air Force. A 2006 USAFA graduate, Lohmeier brings service experience spanning aviation, space operations, strategic planning and senior leadership. His appointment places him in a top civilian leadership role at a time when the Air Force and Space Force are evolving to meet modern defense challenges.
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Checkpoints: Future Planning
John ’63 and Sandy Fox’s $10 million gift to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Institute for Future Conflict ensures cadets are prepared to confront the world’s most urgent security threats on Day 1. Their support brings vital expertise while expanding other programs that develop future warfighters.
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Checkpoints: Game Changers
Five Air Force Academy graduates are changing the game — on playing fields, in boardrooms and beyond. From executive coaching to tech startups and elite sports medicine, they blend military precision with passion, redefining leadership in today’s sports world.
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Checkpoints: Embedded: The inception of enlisted leaders in cadet squadrons
Thirty years ago, enlisted leaders were imbedded in cadet squadrons, enhancing leadership development and how elisted personne and officers worked together.
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Checkpoints: From the Tilton Hilton to Bell CEO
Checkpoints sat down with Lisa Atherton '96, president and CEO of Bell Textron, an 8,500-employee aerospace company manufacturing and delivering helicopters and vertical lift aircraft to military and commercial customers around the world, to talk about her USAFA journey and leadership philosophy.
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Checkpoints: Eagles Peak: Jemal Singleton ’99 soars in rarified air — and has the Super Bowl ring to prove it
In April 2025, the Checkpoints team traveled to Philadelphia to visit with Singleton for this feature story and a Long Blue Leadership podcast interview. Singleton also took time from his busy schedule to meet with graduates for a Long Blue Line Social in the City of Brotherly Love.
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Checkpoints: Four graduates reimagining patient care through innovation and education
The Air Force Academy’s influence extends far beyond the cockpit and into health care innovation, as four graduates — among many — demonstrate daily in applying their military precision to pioneering medical advances across diverse specialties.
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Checkpoints: Forged in fire: Largest-ever Culminating Exercise puts Ready Airman Training skills to the test
Over a span of four late-winter days, the U.S. Air Force Academy transformed from a world-class military and educational institution into an Indo-Pacific island rife with escalating geopolitical tensions in what was the largest Culiminating Exercise to date.
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Checkpoints: Augmenting an Academy education
Dr. Paul Kaminski ’64 enjoyed a U.S. Air Force career full of technological firsts that made the United States safer and demonstrated its technological prowess.
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Checkpoints: Combatives courses and clubs prepare cadets for life’s uncertainties
Combatives at the U.S. Air Force Academy is made up of a variety of functional martial arts systems such as freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and even some Filipino and Thai disciplines.
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Checkpoints: Focused on the future
Donor support has always been an important part of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s history. Since its founding in 2007, the Air Force Academy Foundation has focused on cultivating increasing support from donors to help define the future of the Academy, its cadets and its programs – and making sure those gifts are carefully stewarded.
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Checkpoints: Defining athletic excellence
Athletic excellence has been a cornerstone of the U.S. Air Force Academy since its inception. Intercollegiate sports foster teamwork, leadership and perseverance in each generation of cadets, equipping them on the “fields of friendly strife” for service to the nation as Air Force and Space Force officers.
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News: Two graduates join Air Force Academy Foundation board
BJ Jones ’85 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Gen. (Ret.) Terrence O’Shaughnessy ’86 of Boulder City, Nevada, have joined the Air Force Academy Foundation board of directors.
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Checkpoints: Defining the visitor and heritage experience
From the TrueNorth Commons development to class projects, these capital improvements and peer-to-peer initiatives honor the past while building toward an even stronger future.
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Checkpoints: Defining the cadet experience
Over their 47 months at the U.S. Air Force Academy, cadets interact with donor-supported programs and initiatives almost daily. Academic research, upgraded technology, lab equipment, cadet clubs, symposia and guest speakers all are supported with gift funds.
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Checkpoints: Defining the warfighter
Throughout the Defining Our Future campaign’s seven years, donors contributed more than $330 million in support of the U.S. Air Force Academy and graduate services. This support helps secure the Academy’s focus on developing warfighters equipped to lead on Day 1.
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Checkpoints: Foundation board chair Q&A
For the March 2025 issue of Checkpoints magazine, Kelly Banet, executive vice president for development, conducted a Q&A with the two U.S. Air Force Academy graduates who served as chair of the Air Force Academy Foundation board of directors during the seven-year Defining Our Future comprehensive campaign.
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Checkpoints: A future defined
Thanks to nearly 20,000 graduates, families and friends of the Air Force Academy, the future of the institution and of its cadets who become leaders is even brighter and more focused on preparing for uncertainties.
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Checkpoints: Rapid pace of change needed
In February of 2024, Checkpoints sat down with Gen. David Allvin '86, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, for a question-and-answer session.
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Checkpoints: Faculty Spotlight: Capt. Eugene DeNezza
In April 2021, Capt. Eugene DeNezza joined the Prep School’s math department and hit the ground running. Beyond his role as an instructor, Capt. DeNezza applied his relentless work ethic to countless endeavors as a project officer, innovator, mentor and leader.
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Checkpoints: Semper Supra
At USAFA, Col. Marc Sands serves as U.S. Space Force Space Delta 13 Detachment 1 commander. Reflecting on his career, he talked to Checkpoints about his transition to the Space Force, his return to his alma mater to prepare future leaders to be ready on Day 1, and his impression of today’s Academy.
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Checkpoints: The F-15 Eagle's 50 years of air dominance
The F-15 Eagle has an unblemished air-to-air combat record, with its pilots shooting down more than 100 enemy aircraft without a single loss. Now celebrating 50 years of service — the first F-15, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, was delivered in November 1974.
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Checkpoints: Rising Star
The air was filled with anticipation on Nov. 14, 2024, as over 500 people gathered outside the U.S. Air Force Academy’s North Gate to celebrate the long-awaited opening of Hotel Polaris.
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Checkpoints: Fostering connection and service
Jerry '70 and Pam Bruni had created an endowment benefiting the classes celebrating their 10th, 20th, 25th or 30th reunions.
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News: Reyna joins Air Force Academy Foundation board
Vince Reyna ’90 has joined the board of directors of the Air Force Academy Foundation. The board is the governing body of the Air Force Academy Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the Academy through philanthropy.
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Checkpoints: Kucera Legacy Center ushers in new era
After years of planning and fundraising, the Air Force Academy welcomed members of the Long Blue Line, families of cadets and other Academy supporters to usher in a new era of fan comfort and experiences.
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Checkpoints: We are one USAFA
Participation and engagement defined the third annual 1Day1USAFA day of giving on May 8, 2024. More than 3,100 donors, including over 2,000 graduates, demonstrated their support for the U.S. Air Force Academy by donating $3 million across 196 funds.
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Checkpoints: Celebrating philanthropic vision
Hugh Williamson ’64 first heard of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s planned TrueNorth Commons development during an Air Force Academy Foundation board meeting break several years ago. He and fellow board director and developer Dan Schnepf ’83 talked about Schnepf’s hopes for the future of the Academy’s North Gate.
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Checkpoints: Rapid Pace of Change Needed, a conversation with CSAF Gen. David Allvin '86
A conversation with Gen. David Allvin ’86, the sixth USAFA graduate to serve as Air Force chief of staff. He is responsible for ensuring 689,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian personnel have the needed training and equipment to accomplish their missions.
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Checkpoints: Galactic Guides, a conversation with Masucci '85 & Latimer '87
Virgin Galactic pilots Lt. Col. (Ret.) Mike Masucci '85 and Lt. Col. (Ret.) Kelly Latimer '87 are transporting paying customers to space. Checkpoints catches up with them ahead of their first mission together.
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Checkpoints: Moving the Needle
Like Marvel superheroes banding together to repel a common foe, United States Air Force Academy faculty members, permanent party personnel and the expanding staff of the Institute for Future Conflict are assembling an impressive team of subject-matter experts to help avert global disaster.
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