Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis was the first airman to receive a doctorate degree from one of Air University’s schools at Maxwell AFB, Ala., not the first airman overall to earn a doctorate degree from AU as we reported on Tuesday. Airmen have been earning doctorate degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology, a part of AU located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, for decades. Traditionally, the Maxwell campus, which includes institutes like AU’s Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, has offered master’s degrees. We’ve revised our original entry to make this point clear.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.