So much Gold, a Class Color Lesson
Today there will be no new photo coverage. We expected to cover the first session of Intramurals today, but as we've stated before, somedays we have allowance to get pictures, somedays we don't. Today is one of those days. "Flexibility is the key to air power!" So instead you'll get to learn some information just like your Basics, on USAFA history!
Sunday's lesson is Class Colors. 2023 is a gold (yellow) class. Class colors rotate every four years. We just graduated 2019 which was also a gold class! But there are other colors important at the Academy.
In modern architecture, the three primary colors are prevalent [in the design of the Air Force Academy]. Since the Academy was to reflect modern architecture, red, blue, and yellow were chosen for the original Academy colors. The following are the significant aspects of these colors:
Red The sun
Blue The sky
Yellow The grasses on the plains
Silver Stainless steel to mirror aircraft technology (credit usafa.af.mil)
These are where the Class Colors come from. You'll see these colors throughout the Academy on buildings, hats, and graduates in some form or another!
Current Blue Class 2020 Current Silver Class 2021
Current Red Class 2022 Current Gold Class 2023 (look at all that Gold!)
The first USAFA Class (1959) was a gold class. I always keep it straight by remembering that it's always a blue class in a presidental election year. That's why the Class of 2020 is blue. Starting there, the order is Blue, Silver, Red, Gold.
Starting with the Acceptance Day parade, look at the color guard. Right behind the U.S. and Air Force flags are the 4 flags representing the 4 classes. The senior class is always on the left. Below is a picture from the blue class prior to 2020. (They threw in an extra flag). Can't remember why, but you get the idea.
Just a note, Monday (tomorrow) starts the quiet WebGuy BCT days. We will still be out covering the upper class training at the airfield and other venues. These are the days your basics are busy inside where we cannot be. The are mostly doing academic testing. They'll be glad for the opportunity to sit down. Take this time to rest your eyes from photo hunting! While you might not have new pictures, there will be plenty of reading material! Having said that, as you have already discovered, the schedule could change again. If that happens we will let you know both here and on Facebook.
P.S. Here is the answer to yesterday's trivia question. Congrats to Natalie Snider. She was the first to email us with the correct answer. The question was, "Who is Stillman Parade Field named for?" Major General Robert M. Stillman. He was the first Commandant of Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy. Click on his photo below to read his official biography.
Enjoy the Day!