"Class year" refers to the individual's class year, which usually is the same as the individual's graduation year. In times of war, academy classes may graduate early, but this has never happened yet at the Air Force Academy.
Lieutenant General; first USAFA graduate to be Dean of Faculty at the Academy, 1984-86; President of National Defense University 1994-97; President of Moravian College 1997-2006.
Cubero was a member of the first class of women to graduate from the United States Air Force Academy, and thus became the first Hispanic woman to graduate from any service academy.
Lieutenant General; jet transport/tanker pilot; first woman USAF Academy Rhodes Scholar; first woman Cadet Wing Commander; Academic All American Basketball player (1981-82); inaugural member USAF Academy Sports Hall of Fame (2007); Air Force Aide to the President of the United States (1992-94); Superintendent of the Air Force Academy 2013-2017.
Lieutenant General; first graduate in the order of merit in the first class at the Academy; Academy's first Rhodes Scholar; first graduate to return to the Academy as Superintendent of the Air Force Academy (1991–1994)
Director of the National Security Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy (1997–2000)
Pilot of STS-51-B; commanded STS-33 and STS-44; Former Deputy Administrator and former acting Administrator for NASA; first African American to command any space vehicle
The Air Force Academy’s first All-American. He gained the honor when players played offense and defense and just 11 were selected. Strom played on the offensive and defensive lines as a 6'0" 217-lb tackle. Captain of the undefeated 1958 USAFA football team that tied TCU in the Cotton Bowl. Inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame, Michigan, in 1977, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985, the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Air Force Academy Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class in 2007.
1972 Third Team and 1974 Second Team All American soccer player. Holds Falcon career goals and points records. Played for 1976 U.S. Olympic Soccer Team. Played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Former U.S. Olympian and world champion in skeet shooting; Captain of 1996 U.S. Olympic Shooting Team; Professor of English at United States Air Force Academy; Boeing 747 pilot for United Airlines.
USAFA Quarterback from 1987-89; set the NCAA Division I career record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, he finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1989. He was inducted into the Air Force Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2009 and the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Dowis died in an automobile accident on August 29, 2016.
General; first graduate to be promoted to the rank of four-starGeneral (on October 01, 1989); Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment (2001–2005); Acting Secretary of the Navy (2003); pilot; Vietnam War veteran
Mayor of San Jose, California (2007–); graduated first in his class and scored the maximum on the Physical Readiness Test; his daughter Kim Reed-Campbell was also first in her Academy class
Commissioner, Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission, Boston, MA (1983-2000). Commissioner, Governor's Minority Business Commission (1987-1990). President and CEO, the Summit Group Companies, (1981-2008), President and CEO, Association of Graduates, United States Air Force Academy, (2008-), Colorado Aeronautical Board (2012-).
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 books; RITA Award winner.[122] B-777 pilot, United Airlines. Guest speaker (Class of 2015 Ring Dance)
General; Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1997–2001); Distinguished Flying Cross recipient for aerial combat in Vietnam; father John Dale Ryan also served as Chief of Staff (1969–1973) and was a bomber pilot in World War II
General; Commander, Tactical Air Command; Commander, Air Combat Command; Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force; Acting Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1990–1991, acting); fighter pilot
Major; first Native American (Navajo) graduate of the United States Air Force Academy; Vietnam War Aircraft Commander, F-4C fighter pilot; Shot down over North Vietnam on June 8th, 1967, listed as Missing in Action (MIA); Remains returned 2001
Captain; Prisoner of war during the Vietnam War; fighter pilot; first graduate to be awarded the Medal of Honor; the Air Force Lance P. Sijan Award for leadership in one's career and personal life is named in his honor
Brigadier General; Vietnam War rescue pilot; recipient of the Air Force Cross and Jabara Award; 12 successful rescue missions including Roger Locher, the deepest rescue inside North Vietnam
First Lieutenant; A-37B Dragonfly attack aircraft pilot; prior to identification of his remains, Blassie was the Unknown service member from the Vietnam War laid to rest at the Tomb of the Unknowns (1984–1998)
Captain; EF-111 pilot who downed an Iraqi F-1EQ in an air-to-air engagement on the first day of Operation Desert Storm; Distinguished Flying Cross recipient for aerial combat during the Gulf War
Colonel; although American women had been flying combat missions in traditionally "non-combat" aircraft (airlift, tankers, helicopters) for years, she became the first American woman to fly a "combat" aircraft in combat since the lifting of the 1991 prohibition of women in combat; veteran of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom. Elected to Congress in 2014, representing Arizona's 2nd congressional district.
Captain; member of Air Force Special Tactics Unit, veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, called in AH-60 and B-1 airstrikes, aggressively engaged the enemy, and provided life saving medical treatment while under heavy, accurate enemy fire. Awarded the Silver Star
Major General; Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force; Pilot; recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with Oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak leaf cluster
General; Vice Chief of Space Operations (2020–); First USAFA graduate to make general in the Space Force; USAFA Astronautics professor (1989-1992); Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering
Lieutenant general; commander of Space Operations Command (2020–); first commander of a Space Force field command; Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering
Lieutenant general; Space Force director of staff (2020–); first woman and first USAFA graduate to make lieutenant general in the Space Force; Bachelor of Science in Biology
Chief Meteorologist at KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas. Former Chief Meteorologist at KIAH/KHCW/KHWB-TV in Houston, Texas, KDLT/KDLV-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and KGWN-TV in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Television Emmy Awards for coverage of Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina and the EF4 Tornado in Mayflower/Vilonia, Arkansas during the Tornado outbreak of April 27–30, 2014. Appeared nationally on Nexstar Media Group stations during coverage of Hurricane Laura as it moved through Lake Charles, Louisiana in August 2020.
Winner of the reality game show The Amazing Race 4; model, author, and actor; ex-boyfriend of former 'N Sync member Lance Bass His autobiography, Here's What We'll Say, details his time in the Academy and as a commissioned officer in the Air Force under the military's Don't ask, don't tell policy.
As these alumni did not graduate, their class year is listed as "x-" followed by the class year they would have graduated, if known, and they are listed alphabetically by last name.
^"Astronaut Fact Book"(PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). January 2005. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2001-11-09. Retrieved 2009-03-07.