Air 
Force ROTC cadets took the oath of enlistment for the first time in decades on the Yale University campus in New Haven, Conn. Yale AFROTC Detachment 009 Commander Col. Scott Manning administered the oath for cadets from Yale and cross-town partnership institutions during a Sept. 6 ceremony. The return of an Air Force ROTC detachment to the Ivy League school came about under the agreement signed in September 2011 by Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Yale President Richard Levin. University officials agreed to allow the detachment’s return after the Obama Administration’s repeal of the law banning homosexuals from openly serving in the US military. Yale previously had an AFROTC detachment on campus until 1957. Yale’s new AFROTC detachment officially opens its doors on Sept. 21 with 38 cadets, according to AFROTC officials at Maxwell AFB, Ala. Classes at Yale began for the academic year on Aug. 29. (Maxwell photo caption by Michael Marsland)
Air Force Academy Leaders Ousted in Shake Up
Feb. 6, 2026
The U.S. Air Force Academy is getting a leadership refresh after a tumultuous year, with Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind and Commandant of Cadets Brig. Gen. Gavin Marks both set to retire this year and Col. James Valpiani set to come on as the new Dean of the Faculty.
