2022 is going to be an exciting year as we are returning to our Annual Dinner Format! The dinner will take place following the Inter Service game at Falcon Stadium on October 1st, 2022 at 2pm. Game time is 10am MST and will be televised. The dinner will be held at the new Grille Room and Pub in the clubhouse at the Eisenhower Golf Course, located at 123 Golf Course Drive, USAFA. The theme will be the "The Long Blue Alliance Line" which is going to focus on the history of how Blue Alliance gained its identity and relevance, and why continued engagement and participation in Blue Alliance is even more critical in the current era of polarization.  Maintaining our rights requires ongoing work.  The speaker this year is Captain Kathi Durst. There will be drinks beforehand, a dinner, and a Q&A afterwards. Read about Kathi below. Purchase tickets at the event link >>>>     www.eventbrite.com/e/384159309837
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​Captain Kathi Durst – American Airlines, B777 Check Airman
Being a trailblazer is nothing new for Captain Kathi Durst. In 1981 she graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, in only the second class that admitted women. In 2012, Captain Durst also became the first female pilot in a Fleet management leadership role in American Airlines’ history when she stepped up to assume the Fleet Captain position for the Boeing 737 fleet. Two years later in 2014, Captain Durst broke new ground. She was named one of four Chief Pilots at American's largest hub, DFW — the first woman to carry this mantle. Captain Durst is a former Check Airman (Instructor Pilot) on both the Airbus A300 and Boeing 737 fleets before taking over the Boeing 737 Fleet Captain role. She currently instructs for American Airlines on the Boeing 777 fleet.
Upon graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1981, Captain Durst spent her seven-year Air Force career flying the Northrop T-38 at Williams AFB in Phoenix. In that time, she was an Instructor Pilot, Check Section Evaluator, Academic Officer, and the Student Squadron Executive Officer. While in Arizona, she earned a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Kathi has also has spent a great deal of time mentoring young pilots through both the Women in Aviation International group and the National Gay Pilots Association, and is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusiveness at American Airlines and in her community. To that end, Captain Durst was selected as a 2014 recipient of the 6th Annual Earl G. Graves Award for Leadership in Diversity. Additionally, she currently sits on the Board for Z.A.S.A. (Zoomies Against Sexual Assault) which combats sexual trauma at the Air Force Academy.
Kathi lives in Las Colinas, TX with her spouse Sheri, a retired American Airlines Flight Attendant