Former Falcon takes top seat at Air Force Academy

Meet the new Air Force Academy boss, who hopes to be much the same as the old boss.

Lt. Gen. Michael Gould became the 18th superintendent of the academy on Tuesday, taking command from retiring Lt. Gen. John Regni.

Regni bid the academy a loving goodbye, and then Gould honored the outgoing leader.

"You took over the academy at a time of great turmoil, and you've done a marvelous job of stabilizing and getting programs in place," Gould said.

Regni took over in 2005 in the wake of a sexual-assault scandal at the school and also weathered a lawsuit alleging improper Christian proselytizing at the government institution, as well as a 2007 incident in which a few dozen cadets were caught cheating on a quiz.

Regni's legacy is widely seen as bringing more discipline and character development to the academy.

"We're in a great place," Gould said. "We just need to keep it in the fairway."

Gould said he thinks his time as superintendent will involve "minor tweaks" rather than any restructuring. He plans to build on the foundation Regni has left behind.

"We don't have to fix anything that's broken," Gould said. "All we need to do is build on the programs and traditions that Gen. Regni has established and fostered. You will see stability in the coming months and years."

Gould was emotional during his speech, his voice cracking as he thanked his wife, Paula, and his family for their support. The appointment is very much a homecoming for Gould, who still cuts the image of the thick-necked jock who once patrolled the secondary on the Falcons football team.

He graduated from the academy's prep school in 1972, the first superintendent to do so.

He earned his degree at the academy in 1976, and he played cornerback on the football team.

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

Gould has a distinguished career apart from the academy, logging more than 3,000 flight hours, commanding the 2nd Air Force and 3rd Air Force, and serving in the White House as Air Force aide to the president, as well as in the Pentagon as military assistant to the secretary of the Air Force.

Gould's winding path brought him back to Colorado Springs once again from 2000 to 2002, when he was commander of the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center during the Sept. 11 attacks.

As superintendent, he will be in charge of 3,500 military and civilian staff members, as well as 4,400 cadets on the academy's 18,500-acre grounds.

Not only is it his alma mater, but his two sons and one daughter-in-law are also academy graduates. So the post, which will be Gould's last in the Air Force, is personal.

The new superintendent said he'll try to resist the temptation to call plays for the football team, but he had one edict for cadets on the field and off: "Beat Army. Beat Navy."

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