Today in USAFA history: 1971 -- First Lieutenant Ronald Bond, Class of ’69, is presumed killed when his F-4E aircraft fails to return to friendly airspace following an armed reconnaissance mission in Laos. He was promoted to Captain while missing, and was declared dead on 6 February 1979. His name appears on the War Memorial on the Academy Terrazzo. 1971 -- Captain Halton Vincent, Class of ’66, and First Lieutenant George Kamenicky, Class of ’69, are killed when their A-1E aircraft is hit by small arms fire and crashes on a mission over Plain of Jars, Laos. It was Captain Vincent’s first combat mission. Their names appear on the War Memorial on the Academy Terrazzo. 1976 -- The Colorado Springs Sun publishes “Women Cadets Fear Femininity Loss.” Some of the female cadets indicated that, while they wanted equal treatment, they missed feeling like women. 1990 -- Major Peter Hook, Class of ’76, is killed while flying a training mission over the Persian Gulf. He became the first Air Force Academy graduate and the first Air Force pilot to die in Operation Desert Shield when his F-15E aircraft inexplicably burst into flames and crashed in Saudi Arabia. His name appears on the War Memorial on the Academy Terrazzo. 1995 -- The Frank J. Seiler Research Laboratory closes. The laboratory was established in 1962 to conduct research in chemistry, applied mathematics, and aerospace mechanics and to provide a means for supporting faculty and cadet research. 1996 -- Captain Clay Smith, Class of ’89, and Cadet Dennis Rando, Class of ’97, are killed in a T-3A Firefly accident in Ramah, Colorado. In Cadet Rando’s honor, the USAFA Cadet Parents Association of Eastern Massachusetts, working in concert with the Academy, established The Dennis P. Rando Cadet Humanitarian Fund for the primary purpose of funding the travel costs of a cadet honor guard attending the funeral services of a fellow cadet. 1996 -- A Fiscal Year 1992 Defense Authorization Bill provision goes into effect, requiring all officers commissioned after this date to receive reserve commissions. Since the first class graduated in 1959, Academy graduates had been given regular commissions when they entered active duty. 2002 -- The Headquarters 10th Support Group is redesignated as the 10th Mission Support Group. It remained assigned to the 10th Air Base Wing. 2012 -- The Academy Cyber Competition Team places first of 331 undergraduate teams from the U.S. and Canada in the NYU Poly Cyber Security Awareness Week Capture the Flag qualifying round.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 20:00:00 +0000
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