Author: Ivan Orozco
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Former Fountain-Fort Carson star fulfills dream of 1st homer in Yankee Stadium
SAN DIEGO – It was a moment Chase Headley repeatedly imagined. Headley always had pictured himself rounding the bases after blasting his first major league home run. But the San Diego Padres outfielder didn’t think that moment would become a reality at a historic ball park on the second day of what he hopes will…
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Foos fighter
WASHINGTON — The Air Force is taking aim at its big costs of fuel and flight this week, temporarily halting training operations for 12 active duty fighter and bomber squadrons across the United States in order to save nearly $300 million. New details on the cuts emerged Wednesday. They will total 45,000 flight hours, and…
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An appreciation of the arts
In the cold, barren hills of Korea more than 60 years ago, two teary-eyed soldiers stood in a prisoner of war camp where their chaplain lay dying. The Rev. Emil Kapaun was weak, his body wracked by pneumonia and dysentery. After six brutal months in the hellish camp, the once sturdy Kansas farmer’s son could…
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Ceremony kicks off event with a roar
John Schneider craves the feel of chalk on his hands. He longs for the rough texture of rock on his fingertips as he feels his way up a 43-foot wall of rock. Fifteen years ago, those same hands reached for beer bottles, for marijuana, for cocaine. Now, his highs come while trying not to fall.…
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Olympian Gardner to kick off event
In March, The Gazette sat down with Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, to learn about the 36-year Air Force veteran as well as the school he commands. Gould has a long history with the academy. He graduated from the academy in 1976. He has also served there as a graduate…
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Medical staff prepares for influx of athletes
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Flags are Luke Air Force Base in Arizona are being flown at half-staff Monday in honor of an airman from Colorado Springs who died following physical training. Officials say Master Sgt. Iordanis “Jordan” Velissariou was stricken Thursday at the base in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale. The 40-year-old Velissariou was from Colorado…
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Willert jumps competition
The pilot of an F-16 fighter jet that went missing Monday on a training mission over the Adriatic Sea has been identified as an Air Force Academy graduate. It said he is Capt. Lucas Gruenther of the 31st Fighter Wing, based at Aviano Air Base in Italy. Gruenther graduated from the academy in 2003, said…
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Batman finishes empty this time
A Fort Carson soldier appeared on CBS news Tuesday morning, speaking about a video he shot last year in Afghanistan of a firefight against the Taliban. Pfc. Ted Daniels, a soldier with the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, shot the video with a camera mounted on his helmet while deployed to eastern Afghanistan.…
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Six inducted into ProRodeo Hall of Fame
Mourners paid respects Wednesday to an Air Force Academy graduate who died last week when his plane went missing during a training mission. Nearly 1,000 showed up to honor Maj. Lucas “Gaza” Gruenther at a memorial service held at Aviano Air Base in Italy, according to an Air Force news release. Gruenther, a pilot with…
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Cowgirls show off during barrel racing
Kiersten and Kerri Schmidt were desperate to see each other. It was the summer of 2011, and they had just reported for six weeks of basic training at the Air Force Academy. Until that point, only summer camp had separated the twins from Verona, Ky., for an extended period. The academy would change that. Sibling…