Architect Walter Netsch was only 34 when handed the monumental task of designing the Cadet Chapel – a centerpiece in the bold new vision for the United States Air Force Academy. The commission was unprecedented in scale: a Cold War-era project involving cadet quarters for 8,000, a hospital, an airfield, academic and administrative complexes, a court of honor, and more. Over 340 firms competed for the honor, but it was Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) that won the contract on July 23, 1954.