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Air Force Academy’s ‘CULEX’ puts thousands of cadets through realistic 24-hour combat simulation
The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) held its large-scale annual “CULEX,” or culminating training exercise, on Thursday, giving cadets a realistic look at a combat scenario.
The 24-hour-a-day exercise places nearly 4,000 cadets in a mock war setting, where upperclassmen lead complex missions and younger students follow orders. This year, it runs April 15–16.
The Air Force Academy is 18,500 acres, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, but on Thursday, the culminating exercise scenario transformed USAFA into Hokkaido, a Japanese island under attack by enemy forces.
“We’ve pretty much taken over the entirety of USAFA, to allow all 4,000 of our cadets to have space to operate throughout the exercise,” said CULEX director Col. Jennifer Hall.
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In the war scenario, Japan has asked the U.S. to come in as a defensive force.
“In this scenario, we have four established airfields,” Hall said. “And so that’s what’s established, the four joint operating areas that we have them in.”
Each joint operation area, or JOA, has around 800 cadets, defending an airfield, two high-value assets and a downed airman. Cadets also face real-world issues such as injured officers and invasions by enemy targets deemed the “Red Force.”
“We pulled out one squadron to play Red Force,” said Hall. “So our cadets are actually playing Red Force, and they’re out there in the field right now harassing our cadets. They’re doing an amazing job. They’re super excited.”
Hall explained, “What we’re trying to do is have the cadets prioritize through decision-making. And you’ll see all across that Red Force is trying to complicate that to the best of their ability.”
While the situation may not be real, it definitely looks and feels like it.
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“You’ll see about 15 tents laid down as an austere, expeditionary environment, two of which are tactical operations centers and a medical tent and warming tent,” Hall explained. “And then we have sleeping tents for the cadets, because we will be remaining overnight for the first time.”
Some cadets fly airplanes while others deploy parachutes in the sky. On the ground, hundreds of cadets equipped with air soft guns defend their camps, taking radio traffic from troops under attack. Meanwhile, students in mission control use drones and mapping technology to solve real-world problems.
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“The only way to prepare for the fight that we’re in, or the future fight, is to develop the training necessary where they can experience it real time, in the woods, in the field,” said Hall.
Now in its second year, the CULEX focuses on building confidence, teamwork and leadership skills rather than testing cadets with a pass-or-fail system. It’s a multi-domain tactical exercise designed to replicate the environments future Space Force and Air Force officers may encounter.
“For our seniors, in 44 days, they’re going to graduate, and they’re going to go off, and they’re going to be officers in our Space Force and Air Force— how much more equipped they’re going to be to lead, to face complicated problems, to know that they can do what’s difficult,” said Hall.
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Mississippi middle schoolers stop runaway bus after driver loses consciousness from asthma attack
A group of Mississippi middle school students jumped into action this week to stop a school bus after the driver lost consciousness on a highway, preventing a potential crash.
About 40 students from Hancock Middle School were on board when their driver, Leah Taylor, 46, suffered an asthma attack shortly after leaving campus, according to The Associated Press.
Taylor attempted to grab her medication but passed out before she could reach it.
Without hesitation, the students sprang into action to keep the bus from crashing.
Sixth grader Jackson Casnave, 12, who was sitting behind the driver, noticed the bus begin to swerve. He rushed forward to grab the wheel and called for help.
“I didn’t have time to process my emotions,” Casnave said. “I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt.”
Darrius Clark, who is also 12, then hit the brakes, and the students steered the bus to a median and brought it to a stop.
Clark’s sister, Kayleigh, 13, called 911, later saying she struggled to hear the operator over the screams from classmates.
“I was scared, but also I had to help,” Kayleigh said.
Eighth grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, saw the driver holding a nebulizer and helped administer the medication, while 13-year-old McKenzy Finch assisted.
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Finch also noticed the driver’s phone ringing and alerted the district’s transportation team about what had happened.
Taylor, who has since made a full recovery, praised the students for their actions.
“I’m grateful for my students,” Taylor said. “They’re the ones that saved my life and everybody else’s on that bus.”
The students were honored at a school pep rally Friday and are set to receive a celebratory lunch next week, The AP reported.
“What they did took courage,” the school’s principal, Dr. Melissa Saucier, said. “They didn’t wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Secret Service in line of fire at WHCA shooting still unpaid due to Dem-led shutdown
A shooting near President Donald Trump and several Cabinet members Saturday night is putting a spotlight on the Secret Service’s funding shortfall amid an ongoing standoff in Congress.
A gunman opened fire outside the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., where celebrities, members of the press and administration officials had gathered, prompting a swift security response. The suspect is in custody and has not been identified. One Secret Service agent was reportedly shot in their protective vest but is uninjured.
The incident unfolded near a security screening area, prompting a rapid response from Secret Service agents and law enforcement.
The shooting comes amid a more than 60-day funding stalemate in Congress over the Department of Homeland Security — a lapse driven by Democrats blocking funding bills and rejecting multiple GOP-backed proposals to reopen the department.
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The funding standoff centers on disputes over immigration enforcement policy and has raised concerns about resources for agencies including the Secret Service, FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the president, vice president, their families and other senior U.S. officials, along with visiting heads of state, has faced growing demands in recent years.
The incident adds to a growing list of threats against Trump, including two confirmed assassination attempts and a recent incident involving an armed intruder at Mar-a-Lago.
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Senate Democrats declined to fund DHS through regular appropriations earlier this year following a deadly January incident involving immigration officers, triggering a funding lapse that has now stretched beyond 60 days. Negotiations remain stalled. Democrats are seeking changes to DHS operations, while Republicans are relying on alternative funding to continue enforcement.
Republicans are also considering funding the department for the remainder of Trump’s term through budget reconciliation, the same process used for immigration funding last year.
The shooting also comes as the Secret Service faces increasing pressure during a high-threat election cycle.
Last week, Secret Service Director Sean Curran warned lawmakers the agency is not adequately staffed to handle the demands of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Olympics and the 2028 presidential cycle, underscoring mounting concerns about staffing and resources.
As more details emerge from the investigation into this latest shooting, questions continue to mount over whether the Secret Service has the resources needed to handle an increasingly complex threat environment.
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Trump praises press after WHCD shooting, says unity at dinner was ‘beautiful’
President Donald Trump gave rare praise to the press in the aftermath of shots fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night that led to the evening’s rescheduling.
“This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press, and in a certain way it did, because the fact that they just unified,” Trump said at a White House press briefing. “I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see.”
Trump’s comments came after he confirmed that the dinner would be canceled in accordance with security protocol despite how he “fought like hell” to have it continue. He reiterated his intention to have the event rescheduled within the next month.
An assailant rushed security at the Washington Hilton Saturday night, shooting a Secret Service officer, who was hit in his bulletproof vest and survived. The suspect was apprehended and has been charged with multiple felonies. The gunfire led to Trump and the Cabinet at the dinner being evacuated, and the dinner will be rescheduled.
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Adding to the strangeness of the scene at the White House, Trump and many of the White House figures and reporters in the room were still wearing tuxedos and dresses after coming from the black tie dinner.
“I think it’s very important that I say, though, and I told the representatives of the evening they did such a beautiful job. It was such a beautiful evening. And again, they’re talking about free speech in our Constitution. That’s what it’s all about, not just White House correspondents. It was really based on free speech in our Constitution. But I said very importantly that we’ll do it again within the next 30 days. And we’ll make it bigger and better and even nicer. So I just want to thank everybody that was involved. I also want to thank the press, the media. You’ve been very responsible in your coverage. I will say I’ve been seeing what’s been out, and you’ve been very responsible,” Trump said.
Trump also took questions from members of the press. The first was from White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang, where he took the opportunity to compliment the CBS correspondent for the evening.
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“I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening. And we’re going to reschedule. And after that, it’s very tough for her to ask a killer question, but you have done a fantastic job,” Trump said.
Jiang asked Trump his thoughts in the moment as the chaos unfolded, given his experience with assassination attempts. Trump said it was always a shocking event, no matter when it happened.
Trump also shared an image of the suspect being arrested from his Truth Social account.
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Trump, first lady Melania Trump and the rest of the president’s Cabinet were rushed from the head table after shots rang out. The site of the Washington Hilton was also the location of the assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Trump announced last month that he accepted the invitation to attend this year’s dinner, explaining that the country’s 250th anniversary influenced his decision.
Trump’s attendance marked the first time he had been present at the event as president in either term. Trump previously attended the dinner as a private citizen in 2011, when he was famously roasted by then-President Barack Obama.
Trump faced two assassination attempts in 2024, including one in Pennsylvania when an assailant’s bullet grazed his ear.
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