This entry is a subentry of Service Academies.
In 1947, when the Air Force was established as a separate service, the question of how to educate potential career Air Force officers was one which followed immediately. It seemed to Air Force leaders that since there was a clear distinction between the challenges of an Army career and an Air Force career, it was also important to create a distinct education process for an Air Force officer. In 1948 the StearnsâEisenhower Board, studying military education, recommended the creation of a separate Air Force Academy, but not until the Korean War was over was legislation for an Academy presented in Congress. On April 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had been an early supporter of the idea, signed the bill that created the academy.
Colorado Springs, Colorado, was chosen as the academy's home. Availability of land and water, a supportive community, an aesthetic environment, weather, flying conditions and real estate value were important factors considered. While the new institution was being constructed, the Class of 1959 began their Academy education at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, moving to the permanent site for their final year.
Much planning went into the curriculum of the institution, and many of the principles behind a West Point education were adapted at the Air Force Academy. A military faculty was deemed important, as well as a core curriculum providing a strong concentration in the sciences. An introduction to flying was considered crucial. Development of character, intellectual and physical development, and professional military development form the basis of an Air Force Academy education; the second lieutenant graduated by the Academy is expected to meet demanding standards in each of these areas.
In 1965 Congressional action increased the size of the cadet wing to 4400, almost doubling it. In 1976 the first women entered the cadet wing; their numbers have steadily increased in the succeeding decades.
[See also Academies, Service: Overview; Air Force, U.S.: Overview.]
Bibliography
- John P. Lovell, Neither Athens Nor Sparta? The American Service Academies in Transition, 1979.
- George V. Fagan, The Air Force Academy: An Illustrated History, 1988
