The Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall delivered a blunt warning about China’s 20-year effort to build a military that can deter and defeat the United States: “We are out of time.” Indeed, he added, “we are involved in an enduring competition that could turn to conflict at any given time.” Meanwhile. . . . .
(USAFA Press Release) U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Miss America returned to her alma mater, the U.S. Air Force Academy, with 27 fellow state delegates Feb. 23.
2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, Class of 2023, became the first active-duty U.S. Air Force officer to win the Miss America Pageant a month earlier. She credits the Academy with her success in the competition and preparing her for her Air Force career.
“Not only did the Academy prepare me for success in all avenues of life, but it gave me friends who turned into family,” Marsh said. “I would not have accomplished anything without the support structure that I found at the Academy.”
Miss America 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh talks to Institute of Future Conflict Director Bradford J. Shwedo in the Multi-Domain Laboratory during her homecoming tour with 27 other state delegates Feb. 23, 2024. Marsh, a 2023 Academy graduate, became the first active-duty U.S. Air Force officer to win the Miss America Pageant the previous month. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Dylan Smith)
The tour began with Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark’s mission briefing.
Clark explained his priorities of
- developing leaders of character,
- preparing for future conflict and
- dignity and respect for all. (STARRS NOTE: **DEI Codeword Shame Alert** as if no service member in the USAF since it began 1947 until 2020 ever treated each other with dignity and with respect they were due or earned. But does the current obsession with this Maoist motto include the enemies of a future conflict? Maybe it would be better for him to have a priority of developing future WARFIGHTERS instead of something out a of liberal arts college mission statement?)
He also stressed that the Academy is the institution for the nation’s best and brightest students to challenge themselves. (STARRS NOTE: That’s it, challenging themselves? That’s what a MILITARY academy is for?)
Miss Delaware Emily Beale checks out the TG-16A Glider during the Miss America Delegation’s tour of Davis Airfield Feb. 23, 2024. Beale joined Miss America 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh for a tour of the U.S. Air Force Academy. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Adalyn Greene)
Tour highlights
Delegates flew flight simulators in the Multi-Domain Laboratory, packed parachutes and sat in gliders during a tour of the 306th Flying Training Group at Davis Airfield and visited athletic facilities. Tour highlights also included stops in departments that were formative in Marsh’s cadet education.
One early stop was the McDermott Library’s Academic Success Center. Dr. Daniel Johnson’s public speaking laboratory staff was pivotal in helping Marsh improve her public speaking skills.
Marsh, a Physics major, and the delegates also visited the Department of Physics and Meteorology. She credits her academic advisor Monte Anderson for helping to keep her in school during a time when she battled homesickness. They also worked together on Marsh’s capstone physics research in pancreatic cancer detection research with machine learning through Harvard Medical School.
“The Academic Success Center and public speaking lab poured into my success in the classroom but also prepared me for my success outside the Academy,” Marsh said. “With my scholarship interviews, I spent plenty of time at the lab running through every tough question that could be thrown my way. They truly went above and beyond to help prepare me.”
Tour conclusion
The tour concluded with Clark and wife Amy’s reception at The Carlton House, a historic Spanish Colonial Revival in the Pine Valley housing area. Delegates interacted with The Bird, the Academy’s costumed mascot, as well as cadet falconers with their birds.
2024 Miss Colorado Sarah Swift tests virtual-reality goggles in the Multi-Domain Laboratory during the Miss America Delegation’s tour of Davis Airfield Feb. 23, 2024. Delegates from the Miss America Organization enjoyed an immersive visit to the U.S. Air Force Academy (U.S. Air Force Photo by Dylan Smith)
The tour was part of Miss America 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh homecoming visit. Marsh, Class of 2023, became the first active-duty U.S. Air Force officer to win the Miss America Pageant. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Dylan Smith)
Taking their Academy experience back home
The Miss America Organization visit gave the delegates a complete day of exposure to the Academy, said Mike Peterson, Strategic Communications outreach division director.
The tour enables the delegates to promote the Academy throughout their home states, Peterson said. “We’re hoping that one of the things that the delegates will talk about is how they participated in Miss America’s homecoming at her college, the U.S. Air Force Academy,” Peterson said. “They are going to represent their states for the rest of their lives. We hope they will continue to spread the word about the Academy and their positive experience here.”
Marsh said the delegates enjoyed the tour tremendously and was happy to share the opportunity with them.
“My Miss America class was floored by the entire experience,” Marsh said. “They truly got the whole cadet experience; dorm tours, flight simulators, hopping in planes, eating with cadets and more. I really couldn’t have thought of a better day to show them my home.”
A 306th Flying Training Group officer explains parachute packing procedures to Miss America state delegates during their tour of the U.S. Air Force Academy Feb. 23, 2024. The tour was part of Miss America 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh homecoming visit. Marsh, Class of 2023, became the first active-duty U.S. Air Force officer to win the Miss America Pageant. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Dylan Smith)
For more photos of the Miss America delegation’s visit, see Flickr.
While I’m happy for Madison Marsh that she won the Miss America contest, I have no idea how she had the time to compete in all the preliminaries while at the Academy. As an Astro major, I had no spare time for anything and remember studying many Sundays to get ahead of the following week. How did the Academy accommodate both her USAFA responsibilities and her outside interests in beauty contests? Of course, for my class of 1969, the Academy was a very different beast from what it has become in recent years.