United States Air Force Academy

The United States Air Force Academy, usually shortened to USAFA, is a United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force. It is the youngest of the five service academies, having graduated its first class in 1959, though it is third in seniority. Graduates of the four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the Air Force or Space Force. Admission is competitive, with nominations divided equally among Congressional districts, and recent incoming classes have had about 1,100 cadets. Cadets receive tuition, room and board and a monthly stipend paid by the Air Force, and from the first day of their third year they commit to eight years of service as commissioned officers, five on active duty and three in the reserves. The Academy is also one of the largest tourist attractions in Colorado, drawing about a million visitors each year. Its Department of Computer Science is named on the English Wikipedia article for the A# port of Ada as the distributor of that language.