Academy boss wants students to have pride - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Academy boss wants students to have pride

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In his second year on the job, the Air Force Academy’s top officer wants to keep improving the caliber of cadets and instill the same “sense of fanatical pride” in students that he sees in alumni.

Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michael Gould shared his priorities for the upcoming school term interview with Air Force Times.

Gould stressed the importance of strengthening the bond between the academy and cadets.

“At 10-year and 20-year and 30-year reunions, we see graduates all come back, and they are so proud of the fact that the Air Force Academy has made them into the people, the citizens and the leaders they are,” he said.

“But I maintain that it shouldn’t take till the 10-year mark for you to feel that sense of pride. I maintain that if we do it right here at the academy and the cadets know they are appreciated, if we hold them to high standards and they share a challenging experience — I think they’ll walk out of here on graduation day and they will feel terrifically proud that they are graduates of the one and only U.S. Air Force Academy.

In the exclusive interview with Air Force Times, Gould touched on a host of other topics — from the academy’s annual climate survey and emerging career fields to alumni and football.

Q. The Air Force Academy, along with its fellow service academies, has received criticism for a lack of diversity in its student body. Are you happy with the amount of diversity at the academy now?

The class of ’14 is more diverse than ’13 and I think we will continue to see improvements, and when I talk about diversity I think it’s important to note it’s not only a racial issue. It is everything from race, gender, socio-economic background, cultural background, language. [We are real pleased there are 27 percent minorities in the class of 2014.]

Q. What was your reaction to the climate survey? You have said the academy made progress in some areas such as respect for fellow cadets, but more cadets need to come forward and report abuse, harassment and discrimination they see.

A climate survey is a commander’s responsibility to have an environment in which all your people feel free and comfortable to do their mission. Our mission is not to create a certain climate. Our mission is to train and educate and inspire future leaders of characters. … [T]his is ongoing work and daily work where we look for insights and if we find some problems, we try to solve that. For instance, if we find that there are cadets or permanent party members who feel like they are not free to practice the religion they would like to, we want to go in and find out why they don’t feel free to do that and then remove the barriers so they can.

Q. You did not release all of the results of the survey to include the ones reported in [a local newspaper] that show 46 percent of female cadets have witnessed harassment or discrimination because of gender.

We ask those questions and those answers are all anonymous, not attributed to anyone. That data doesn’t do me any good unless I can find out why certain people are feeling like they aren’t free to practice their religion, or someone feels they are being harassed; I need to know why. So we take it several layers below where I sit and we interact with the individuals to try to find out with absolutely no fear of retribution to talk to us because we want to eliminate these barriers.

Q. What is the academy doing to make sure cadets can come forward?

As a matter of fact we have numerous programs in place. These have been in place over time. These are programs that deal with respect and dignity. They deal with individual safety. They deal with gender and race and religious issues. The programs are all in place and one of the things we are doing now is redoubling our efforts to make sure everybody, from cadets to faculty and staff, knows about these programs.

Q. Do you think the academy is at risk while service officials are under pressure to find budget cuts wherever they can?

There is always a concern. But we have a chance to sit at the table and advocate for our needs. One of the big needs … is the support to shore up our infrastructure. We are undergoing about a 10-year, close to a billion-dollar infrastructure upgrade … [to] our dormitories. Likewise, in the cadet gymnasium, it has gone 45 years without any major refurbishments so we are committed to that to keep the Air Force Academy the national treasure that it is, but it’s something we have to pay attention to.

Q. Does the Air Force still need an academy?

It is total immersion in the lifestyle, the culture and the serious nature of air, space and cyber power. We demand a lot out of our cadets. And they don’t enjoy some of the freedoms that they might get at another university. The total commitment to this development is what I think makes them special. ... It is what we demand of them. It is what they demand in terms of accountability for each other. Just the intensity of the academic, military and athletic training I think all comes together in that character and leadership development realm to produce an officer who is very well-trained and educated, and prepared to lead in this dynamic environment, especially in this day and age when we are involved in combat operations around the globe.

Q. Why has the academy received its largest number of applications since the year after 9/11?

It is almost a dilemma you wonder about when you look at the numbers of people going off to war these days. In other times, that may have reduced the number of applicants to the Air Force. All the service academies — Army, Navy and Air Force — are seeing an increase in applicants. Some would attribute it to the economy. I like to think it’s because of the patriotic spirit that is running across our country, and it’s really exciting to see that.

Ninety-five percent of all our airmen right now have joined since 9/11 and there is a real desire for one to serve his country. We had nearly 12,000 applicants this year. I think 11,600 and some change. Out of that we picked about 1,300 to come join the class of 2014. The quality is higher than ever. SAT and ACT scores are well above any that I have scored, and it’s exciting to see that we are getting top-quality young men and women.

Q. Should the Air Force Academy have a Division I football team? What do you say to the people that say cadets should be judged solely on their academics, not how well they can throw a spiral or hit a running back?

Our record will show that we can compete at that level. … We present our cadets with the very highest challenges available as any academic institution in the country, and we feel that it’s important likewise to compete at the Division I level in athletics.

We’ll identify men and women who compete in sports, but the very second thing we do beyond getting the name and some of the recommendations is go right to the school and pull transcripts. No one gets in unless they meet our standards

Q. Should the Defense Department allow recent academy graduates to play professional sports immediately after they receive their degrees?

The policy is what it is and it is the same for all the services, so we support that wholeheartedly. We are dealing with … Ben Garland, the defensive lineman who is practicing with the Denver Broncos. Ben understands that he has a commitment to serve first and he is excited about that, which is why this decision is so tough for him.