<p>One of the Air Force Academy’s goals, set by Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould in the third year of his tenure, is to contribute to winning the wars in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. </p>
<p>A Cadet 1st Class helped Airmen with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron in Southwest Asia quickly repair a B-1B Lancer that could not fly due to a failed entry hatch bailout rocket while shadowing the squadron as part of Operation Air Force in July 2011. </p>
<p>“From discussion with the B-1B engineers back in America, they told us we could use a foam material to protect the rocket propellant,” Preston wrote. “However we … don’t really have any material like this.”</p>
<p>Acquiring a replacement part would have taken several weeks. However, because the cadet had shadowed the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron a week before, he knew the foam was locally available.</p>
<p>“Cost of a can: $5. We presented him a ‘cadet of the week’ certificate, but in truth … really he is the cadet of the deployment.”</p>