This year, the Air Force Academy hosted many incredible speakers to participate in its annual National Character and Leadership Symposium (NCLS).  One notable speaker is a former-German paratrooper, an avid skydiver, AND the current CEO of Airbus, Dr. Tom Enders.  Dr. Enders traveled to the Academy from Germany, and was joined by the chairman of Airbus America, Mr. Allan McArtor (USAFA graduate ’64).

Dr. Enders has led an exciting career, and has gained invaluable leadership experience along the way.  He began his time at the Academy by delivering an electrifying speech to hundreds of cadets and NCLS delegates.  He focused on leadership, but also covered topics of character and how to develop successful life habits for the future leaders of America.  Directly following his speech, Dr. Enders was escorted around the campus, and given a taste of the many programs offered by the Academy.  As a skydiver himself, with over one thousand jumps, there was one program he was particularly keen on visiting; The United States Air Force Parachute Team, The Wings of Blue.

The next morning, after touring Falcon Stadium, Dr. Enders and company headed off to the 98^th Flying Training Squadron.  He was greeted by a team of cadets and squadron staff; all members of the Wings of the Blue. His tour began with a brief overview of the program led by the 98^th FTS commander, Lt. Col. Mike Love.  After the program overview, the cadets took over and began to showcase their excellent work.  From the basic jump course, Airmanship 490, to advanced competition and demonstration jumping capabilities, team members showed Dr. Enders how the team operates as a leadership building opportunity to build up academy cadets to “stand in the door”.

Dr. Enders was thrilled to be surrounded by fellow skydivers, and was very active in asking questions and learning more about the program.  He even launched a practice exit out of a mock training door- in his suit!

At the end of the tour, Dr. Enders concluded his visit by taking a group photo with the team, and promising to return later in the year to complete a jump with them.  After departing the 98^th, for his memory’s sake, he asked his cadet escort to write down for him one particularly important phrase he picked up during the tour- the mission statement of the Wings of Blue:

Developing Airmen Through Flight in its Purest Form…  STAND IN THE DOOR!

The 98^th FTS looks forward to seeing Dr. Enders and company in the following year!

by Tom Lerum

Just wanted to get the word out that the Wings of Blue senior freefly team composed of Josh Moore from CS-13 and Casey Habluetzel from CS-32 recently defeated tough competition to become the US National Artistic Freefly Champions. This is the first time that our Academy and the Wings of Blue have won this title and both of these guys put in a ton of work into making sure this happened. Although they won’t be back till Sunday, if you see them around make sure to congratulate them on an awesome accomplishment.

After three months of planning, six hours in the Mighty UV-18B Twin Otter, and a night in Oklahoma, we arrived in Houston for one of our most highly anticipated demonstrations thus far. It was a night jump into Robertson Stadium for the Thursday night rivalry between the University of Houston and their cross-town opponents at Rice University. From the airport, we went straight to the stadium to survey our new landing zone. We talked altitudes, patterns, and procedures until there were no more questions to be asked. We knew exactly what we were going to do, and set out to execute the practice run the following morning. Morning haze restricted our altitude to 3000 feet AGL for the practice and we hopped out into a beautiful and refreshingly humid sky. Jumper after jumper touched down on the football field and we walked away from the morning’s jump with the utmost confidence.

That night, the six of us boarded the Otter and circled the night sky above Robertson Stadium and the neighboring Houston skyline. There’s no feeling quite like performing in front of 40,000 people, but we all felt it on that flight. As the stadium filled further and further, we performed our pre-jump rituals and awaited the green light. As it flicked on, we leapt into the dark sky to land between the lights below. The jump went as well as it could have gone, with all jumpers on their feet within 10 yards of the target. The crowd welcomed us to Houston with roars, and we couldn’t have been happier to meet them in the stands.

The next day, we flew over to Randolph Air Force Base for their annual Air Show. Our fellow demo cadets took another Twin Otter down from Colorado to meet us there. We met in full force and prepared to perform at our highest caliber for the upcoming weekend’s expo. We graced the night skies again on Friday, landing at show center as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. We were scheduled for two jumps on Saturday and two on Sunday. We opened each morning with an American Flag jump, descending to the sound of our National Anthem. Minutes behind the flag, eleven smoke-trailing jumpers opened up and descended in front of the crowd, slapping hands and signing autographs on their way back to the vans. The afternoon jumps included exits two miles above the crowd, smoke trails, and jumpers speeding towards the Earth at speeds in excess of 230 miles per hour. The crowd was enthralled, asking wide-eyed questions as we packed our parachutes among them. Kids had a blast learning how to roll the parachutes just right, knowing that we would use their handy work on our next jumps. Overall, the Wings of Blue Demonstration Team had a blast in Texas. The crowd was extremely supportive and we felt welcome everywhere we went. On behalf of the Wings of Blue, I would like to extend my gratitude for the opportunity to come perform down in the Lone star State; it was an experience like none other.

It is that time in the competition year once again in which the Wings of Blue’s very own Competition teams are preparing to perform on the National stage. During the week of 31 October to 4 Nov 2011, the Wings of Blue’s senior cadet teams, Air Force Inception, Air Force Intrepid, and Air Force Swag will head over to Eloy, Arizona to compete against some of the nation’s best teams at the intermediate level in 2-way Vertical Relative Work and 4-way Relative Work for USPA Nationals. 2-way Vertical Relative Works involves an assortment of formations built in the head down and sit positions along with an artistic round, completely formulated by the jumpers themselves. 4-way relative work involves an assortment of random and block formations that must be completed as many times as possible within the allotted time. Two years of training and dedication will now culminate to this singular event. Buckling in as well are the Wings of Blue’s junior teams preparing to compete at the USPA Collegiate level this December alongside the seniors at Eloy, Arizona as well. It should be a good year of competitions. Be sure to follow your Wings of Blue teams’ progress via http://www.omniskore.com/comp/2011/usnats/index.asp.