Gen Mark A. Welsh Leader Development Program

Hello from Cohort ‘25 👋🏽 With only 2 more weeks left, summer semester has soared by with classes and immersions. Out on the airfield, we were given an inside look at the soaring, powered-flight, and jump programs. 🪂 With BCT in full swing, we visited Jack’s Valley where we witnessed Basics deep in the trenches on the assault course and other various training events. This is only the beginning; our journey is set to takeoff from here! ✈️

100’s night at USAFA means 100 days until graduation. Most of the seniors received their first base assignment tonight. Proud of them all! United States Air Force Academy

Very inspiring to work with USAFA cadets daily. C1C Cade Isley is a proud member of CS-34 and his senior capstone team is on track to be awarded a Patent for their Gaze-assisted Wheelchair Technology. Looking forward to seeing the class of 2024 commission as 2nd Lieutenants here in May!

The United States Space Force selected Lt. Col. Jessica M. Pratt of the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Wing in Colo. as the winner of the Polaris Award for Connection for “developing, growing, and sustaining connections while treating everyone with dignity, empathy, and respect” in 2023. The Space Force’s Polaris Awards annually recognize Guardians who best represent the Guardian Spirit. There are four individual award categories based on each of the core Guardian values—Character, Connection, Commitment and Courage—and a Team Excellence category that combines all four values. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting each of this year’s winners before they receive their awards on stage at the 2024 AFA Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo. #AFAColorado 👉 REGISTER: https://bit.ly/3vcoP47 #AirForce #USAF #Airman #SpaceForce #Guardian

Last week, we kicked off our final semester with a visit from General (Ret.) Robin Rand. We were honored to have Baba himself spend a large portion of his day with us imparting words of Command-wisdom and lessons learned from his distinguished career. Thank you, General!

Fall semester ✅! ❄️ Bring on winter break ❄️ We will ramp back up mid-January with squadron assignments and our final semester of academics, both at USAFA and UCCS. Happy Holidays!

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has approved General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III as the 27th President of Texas A&M University. More: tx.ag/TAMUS121223

“Leadership is a gift. It’s given by those who follow. You have to be worthy of it.” - Gen (Ret) Mark A. Welsh III What an honor to meet and hear from this program’s namesake, Gen Welsh and his wife Betty. The cohort is looking forward to the end of the Fall Semester, and the upcoming holidays!

The cohort recently took a field trip to Wings Over the Rockies in Denver to spend time outside the classroom submerging ourselves in Air and Space history. We had fun unwinding and learning from knowledgeable staff (and a few from the cohort who couldn’t resist)! ✈️🚀

🚲 Have you ever tried riding a backwards bicycle (reverse control handlebars)?🚲 Let the 5 of us tell you…. it is way harder than it looks and none of us were able to accomplish the task. Our Cohort recently took a deeper dive into components of hardiness and resiliency, and how understanding those components will help us as AOCs develop our cadets in those functional areas. UCCS’s specially engineered bicycle is used to demonstrate how hardiness/resiliency takes time to develop. The term "its like riding a bike" was questioned after a few of us attempted to ride the trick-bike and were unsuccessful. However the lesson of patience in building these attributes was well understood after the many failed attempts.