The US Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo., announced last week that its applications for the Class of 2014 had increased over the previous year by 17.2 percent overall and 36 percent for minorities. An average class comprises 1,300 students. The academy received nearly, 11,600 applications, about 1,700 more than for the 2013 class. Of those, there were 4,029 minority applications, an increase of 1,070 over the previous class. The USAFA release credited the success to the academy’s “focused efforts over the last several years to reach out to minorities and individuals in areas of the country that are underrepresented at the academy.”
National Guard adjutants general from nearly two dozen states have signed a letter to Congress seeking multiyear funding for the Air Force to purchase between 72 and 100 new fighter jets per year to modernize the total force.The letter, sent to Congress last week, stresses the need for the Air…