1976 academy grad chosen to lead AFA

The head of a major command who attended the Air Force Academy prep school has been nominated to replace retiring Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni.

President Obama has nominated Maj. Gen. Michael C. Gould as the academy's 18th superintendent. The appointment would come with a promotion to lieutenant general.

Gould is director of operations and plans at Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

An academy spokesman said Gould will take over sometime after the academy's May 27 graduation.

Regni, a 1973 academy graduate, will retire after overseeing the academy since October 2005, the academy said in a press release Monday.

"This is a bittersweet day for me and my wife, Debby," Regni said in a statement. "We will miss the amazing people serving our nation's Air Force and Air Force Academy, as well as the terrific people of Colorado Springs. However, we know it is time for others to lead this great institution."

Regni, who declined an interview through a spokesman, brought more discipline to the academy after the 2003 sexual assault scandal, imposing an earlier wake-up time for cadets, mandatory meal formations and two uninterrupted hours of study every night. He also dealt with a cheating incident in early 2007 amid reports the freshman class was the most underperforming group at the academy in 20 years.

Gould, Regni's replacement, graduated from the academy in 1976 with a degree in behavioral science after attending the academy prep school.

The prep school prepares aspiring cadets for entrance to the academy, but doesn't guarantee admission.

He returned to the academy from August 1981 to June 1985 as a physical education instructor, assistant men's golf coach, head prep-school football coach and T-41 instructor pilot.

Gould couldn't be reached for comment, but his Air Force biography states he's commanded an operations group, an air refueling wing, an air mobility wing and the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center. He also commanded the 3rd Air Force, Royal Air Force in England, and the 2nd Air Force.

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Contact the writer: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazette.com  

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MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL C. GOULD

• Three tours at Air Force Headquarters, duty as an Air Force aide to the president and military assistant to the Air Force secretary.

• More than 3,000 hours flying time in the T-37, T-38, T-41, KC-10, C-5, C-17, C-21, C-141 and KC-135R .

• Master's degree in human-resource development from Webster University

• Attended the Air Command and Staff College and National War College.

• In the Advanced Executive Program at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and attended the National and International Security Management Course at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

• Played cornerback for the Air Force Falcons in 1973 and 1974.