Air Force Academy Leaders Ousted in Shake Up

Leadership at the U.S. Air Force Academy is getting an overhaul as both Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind and Commandant of Cadets Brig. Gen. Gavin Marks will retire later this year and a new dean of faculty, Col. James Valpiani, is set to take charge of the instructors. 

Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink revealed the departures during a Board of Visitors meeting Feb. 5, a spokesperson confirmed. The successors for the academy’s two top jobs have not yet been formally announced, although the administration has narrowed its choices. 

Meink suggested Bauernfeind’s impending would take place in “three to six months,” potentially making his the shortes tenure as superintendent in USAFA history. He assumed the job in August 2024, and every previous superintendent served at least two years. 

Bauernfeind’s prior role was head of Air Force Special Operations Command, a position he held for just 19 months, one of the shortest command tenures in that organization’s history, as well. 

“I want to thank General Bauernfeind for his dedicated service and leadership throughout his career,” Meink said in a statement. “Over several decades, through numerous combat deployments and as commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, he has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to the mission and the Airmen behind it. At the Academy, he helped prepare future warfighters and he leaves a legacy that strengthens our people and our Air Force. 

Marks has served as Commandant of Cadets since June 2023. The commandant is in charge of the Cadet Wing and oversees military training and extracurricular activities at the Academy. Others who have filled that role include historic figures like Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, future Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, and future superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark. 

Bauernfeind’s and Marks’ departures come in the wake of major changes at USAFA, where civilian faculty positions were slashed in 2025 as part of a broader Defense Department-wide push to trim the civilian workforce. Air Force leaders said then they planned to fill more positions with uniformed instructors. The faculty cuts sparked complaints from current and former faculty members, resulting in a procedural review of USAFA’s accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. Bauernfeind said during the Board of Visitors meeting that the accreditation had been confirmed. 

Concerns that the Academy would cut the number of majors offered by the school remain. Bauernfeind said during the board meeting that all existing majors will continue to be offered at least through the class of 2027 and “hopefully” the class of 2028, depending on that class’s selections. 

The Academy was also swept up in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s drive to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and his focus on “Warrior Ethos.” USAFA dropped a minor in “Diversity and Inclusion Studies,” conducted a library review to scrub for texts that promoted DEI, and revised its mission statement, replacing the word “educate” with “forge” and “service to the nation” with “fighting and winning our nation’s wars.”

The new mission is: “To forge leaders of character, motivated to a lifetime of service, and developed to lead our Air Force and Space Force as we fight and win our nation’s wars.”

Morale has reportedly declined. Local TV station KOAA reported in January that an internal staff survey revealed 72 percent of staff said the climate on campus was worse than the previous year, and just 30 percent of respondents said they had high morale. Officials at the board meeting cautioned that the results of that survey are preliminary. 

A cheating scandal in March 2025 resulted in nearly 100 cadets being disciplined, and men’s basketball coach Joe Scott was recently suspended amid an investigation into his treatment of cadet-athletes. And the $335 million Air Force Academy Chapel renovation project, which President Donald Trump termed a “mess” in October, continues to be plagued with problems and now faces a possible investigation. 

Yet Bauernfeind tried to be positive at the Board of Visitors meeting, noting such successes in 2025 as the acquisition and use of small drones at the school, the addition of three new minors focused on warfighting, new fitness standards, and an increase in applications of 11 percent. 

While cadets, faculty, staff, and alumni await the appointment of new leaders, one change already confirmed is the Faculty Dean, Valpiani, who will oversee Academy academics. A career F-15E pilot and former commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Valpiani most recently led the aerial combat autonomy research program at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.