Skies to Conquer de Diana Jean Schemo

Skies to Conquer: A Year Inside the Air Force Academy

Diana Jean Schemo

A former New York Times reporter′s year behind the scenes at the scandal–ridden Air Force Academy Diana Jean Schemo covered the Air Force Academy′s sexual assault scandal in 2003, one of a series of academy embarrassments that have included drug use, rape complaints, and charges of evangelical officers pushing Christianity on cadets of all faiths. Today, the institution is in flux—a fascinating time to look at the changes being made and the experience of today′s cadets. Schemo followed a handful of academy cadets through the school year. From the admissions process and punishing weeks of basic training to graduation, she shares the triumphs and tribulations of the cadets and the struggle of the academy′s leaders to set their embattled alma mater on a straighter path. Follows cadets in all grades, with insights on day–to–day academy life and training Written by a veteran reporter, two–time foreign correspondent and Pulitzer Prize nominee, with excellent contacts at the academy Includes 38 black–and–white photographs Like David Lipsky′s successful Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point , this book offers a fascinating window on the training of our military today. But Schemo′s book updates the story: the seniors were the first class to sign up after the attacks of 9/11, and the road to graduation, this time, leads to an America at war.

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Descriere

" Skies to Conquer is a terrific, important, beautifully written book. Diana Jean Schemo takes readers deep inside one of the military′s most important, if least understood, institutions: the U.S. Air Force Academy. It is a book that proves that America′s warriors of the air are made, not born. Schemo was granted extraordinary, fly–on–the–wall access to a new class of training cadets who arrive in Colorado Springs as uncertain, undisciplined teenagers and are molded, sometimes brutally, into the future leaders of the United States Air Force. A collection of rich, very human portraits of these young men and women, the book also offers a troubling, if scrupulously fair, portrait of the institution. Written in the wake of the school′s 2003 sexual–assault scandal, Skies to Conquer contains startling evidence to suggest that sexual harassment and religious intolerance may still plague the academy." —Philip Shenon, author of the New York Times bestseller The Commission "Diana Jean Schemo gives us entree to a most unusual school that is not only one of the world′s most elite war colleges but also a bellwether of the U.S. military′s attempts—and, sometimes, reluctance—to meet the demands of the democratic society it serves. But this is not a book about strategy, policy, or politics; it′s the story of young, soon–to–be and never–to–be officers and their education, a balanced and empathetic account of how authority is built, bestowed, earned, and undermined in an institution at a cultural crossroads. A fascinating, valuable work of journalism." —Jeff Sharlet, author of the New York Times bestseller The Family "Diana Jean Schemo provides a compelling, nuanced, and balanced portrait of life inside the Air Force Academy that raises critical questions about how we are training the next generation of air force officers. The human story of what happens to these bright, idealistic young men and women in the cauldron of the academy is both enthralling and important." —Douglas Frants, coauthor of The Man from Pakistan

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Cuprins

Acknowledgments. Introduction. Part One ON THE HILL. 1 Light Travelers. 2 Th e Ordeal of a Meal. 3 In the Running. 4 A New Road Map. 5 Broken but Still Standing. 6 Th e Meaning of Knowledge. 7 Th e Long Jump. 8 Th e Seesaw. Part Two SECOND BEAST. 9 Into the Beast. 10 Of Love and Demons. 11 The Family Line. Part Three JOINING THE FOLD. 12 Surviving Second Beast. 13 Parting the River. 14 Bernard’s Knock. 15 Meeker’s Fall. 16 Back from the Pit. 17 Barrett’s Roar. 18 Wars Distant and Near. 19 (Almost) All Roads Lead to Jesus. 20 No Excuses. Part Four THE DARK AGES. 21 Flyboy. 22 Reaching High and Scaling Back. 23 Running Man. 24 Taylor’s Walk. 25 The Four–Dig Slide. 26 Of Love and Pain. Part Five INTO THE LIGHT. 27 On the Runway. 28 Doolies Rising. 29 Harrison’s Moment. 30 Closing the Circle. 31 Th e Beast Rears Again. 32 Urban′s Honor. 33 Human Once More. 34 Hearing the Silence. 35 Taking Off. Epilogue. Index.

Notă biografică

Diana Jean Schemo , a veteran journalist and foreign bureau chief at the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times , has covered poverty and child abuse, culture, religion, and education. Her reports have tracked rebels in Colombia, counterfeiting in Paraguay, and indentured servitude in Brazil. She has written from more than twenty–five countries and regions, including Somalia, Iraq, Israel, and the Amazon. For more, visit www.skiestoconquer.com.