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Air Force Academy
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In 1950, the board, headed by Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president of Columbia University, and Robert L. Stearns, president of the University of Colorado, found the needs of the Air Force could not be met by a desirable expansion of the older service academies. The board recommended that an Air Force academy be established without delay and proposed that, in peacetime, not less than 40 percent of the regular officers taken into each service should be academy graduates.
Congress authorized creation of the Air Force Academy in 1954, and construction began in 1955. On August 29, 1958, the wing of 1,145 cadets moved into the present site from its temporary site at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver. Less than a year later, the Academy received accreditation. On March 3, 1964, the authorized strength of the Cadet Wing was increased to 4,417 and later reduced to its present number of 4,000. |
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Current Activities Environmental cleanup work remaining at the Academy is the long term monitoring of two landfills. Numerous investigations of the landfills found that groundwater was impacted, with the primary concern being metals contamination (arsenic, iron and manganese) in seep areas.
Historic Activities A records search conducted in 1984 identified ten specific areas for further investigation, and three additional sites were added to the list as new information emerged. Field investigations began at the Academy in October 1987. Results of the sampling and monitoring through 1996 led to closeout of the following sites:
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The Academy published the Community Relations Plan in May 1996, outlining public participation activities. The Plan included formation of the Environmental Cooperation Council, the main forum for involvement in Academy environmental programs. The Council has not met since August 2006.
For more information on community involvement activities at the Academy, contact the Chief Civil Engineering / Environmental Flight at 719-472-4493 or the Office of Public Affairs at 719-472-2569. |
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Documents related to the environmental cleanup at the Academy can be accessed at the following locations:
U.S. Air Force Academy
USAF Academy Library
Civil Engineering Building
Public Affairs Office
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment |
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Air Force Academy Chief Civil Engineering / Environmental Flight
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Tracie White, State Remedial Project Manager
Jeannine Natterman, State Public Involvement Coordinator |
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State of Colorado 