Top-notch Academy cadets readying for war on terror Published Oct. 16, 2007 By Corey Dahl 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AFB, Colo. -- Lt. Gen. John Regni sleeps like a baby at night, and his secret isn't warm milk or counting sheep. General Regni, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, sleeps well because he has absolute confidence in the Air Force's future leaders. "I lose absolutely no sleep at night worrying about the next generation of officers - particularly in the U.S. Air Force," he said. "The students at the academy are top-notch. We are very proud of them." Speaking at a Military Officers Association of America meeting at The Club Oct. 5, General Regni spoke about the high-caliber students the academy is able to draw, how they're being taught and the important role they'll eventually play in the war on terror. To say the least, General Regni said, today's cadets are not your average college students. "The standards are very high," he said. "We push them all the time, and they respond to it. We're very proud of them." Students entering the academy are coming out of high school with high G.P.A.s and Ivy League-caliber standardized test scores, General Regni said. Those smarts come in handy once they become cadets. Academy students graduate with 147 semester hours, compared to the 120 hours required by most universities. The majority of students are majoring in math, science or engineering fields, and all students are required to take a foreign language. More than 44 percent of cadets are learning a "strategic" language, such as Farsi, Russian or Mandarin Chinese, for use in their future Air Force careers. Most remarkable, General Regni said, is the fact that all of the academy's current 4,400 students have enrolled after the 9/11 attacks, with the knowledge that the United States is at war. "They're here because they want to be here," he said. "They want to serve their country, they want to fly, and they know this is the best place to do it." Many recent academy graduates are already deployed in support of the war, despite the popular misconception that the Air Force is barely involved in the fighting overseas, General Regni said. In fact, the Air Force has roughly 7,700 Airmen currently deployed, he said, performing jobs ranging from medical evacuations to explosives disposal. "Graduates from 2000 on, they're already in the war big time," he said. "So in case anyone, when you're watching the news, is wondering why you aren't seeing a lot of blue uniforms, just know that we're in this fight big time, working day to day, shoulder to shoulder. We're all in this war, and we're all in it together." General Regni's speech was part of the MOAA Pikes Peak chapter's 47th birthday celebration. In addition to listening to the general, members pored through old scrapbooks and listened to a brief presentation on the chapter's history. With more than 1,800 members, the chapter is one of just seven in Colorado dedicated to helping retired and current military, their families and the community. "From the outset, this chapter has been an organization devoted to fostering fellowship among retired officers and their families and supporting various civic and charitable organizations," said retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Colvin, MOAA's assistant public affairs officer. "We're looking forward to continuing to do that for years to come."