The Air Force Institute of Technology has honored three distinguished alumni for their roles in science, engineering and education. They are: Anthony K. Hyder, retired Army Lt. Gen. Leo Pigaty, and retired USAF Col. Howard M. McCoy. Among Hyder’s accomplishments is service on the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and with NATO science and technology panels. Pigaty is a veteran logistician, who made “significant contributions” to DOD weapon system support programs. McCoy served in Wright Field engineering, becoming propeller lab chief, and became a key initiator of the DOD technical intelligence activity. There’s more here.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
