Hill visits Arkansans at Air Force school

WASHINGTON — Winter comes early at the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Rep. French Hill discovered earlier this month.

He traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo. — home of the elite school — which is more than a mile above sea level.

“It started snowing … and kind of snowed all day,” the Republican from Little Rock said.

He used some of his time to track down young people from the Natural State.

“I got to meet our Arkansans at the Air Force Academy and got to have lunch with our cadets. They’re doing great,” he said. “It was really great to see them thriving.”

Also this month, Hill made a detour to Cheyenne Mountain, home of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and a bunker designed to withstand a nearby nuclear attack.

Since taking office in January 2015, Hill has visited three of the nation’s five service academies, checking in with Arkansans each time.

In February 2016, he stopped by the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and had dinner with 27 of the 38 Arkansans. That October, he made similar visit to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Near the top of Hill’s to-do list? Trips to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.

Hill said he hopes to visit those institutions “sometime soon.”