In a collective effort known as Alternative Spring Break, 135 Air Force Academy cadets will spend their vacations at three different locations building houses, cleaning up and rebuilding in areas heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Cadets will join thousands of other college students across the nation working with Habitat for Humanity and other relief groups in Covington, La.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Biloxi, Miss.

Alternative Spring Break coincides with normal spring break for academy cadets, which begins March 24 and continues through March 31. Alternative Spring Break is part of the cadet service learning program sponsored by the Academy’s Center for Character Development.

“Our cadet service learning programs are centered around one of the Academy’s main core values, ‘Service Before Self,’” said Maj. Eric Ecklund of the Academy’s Center for Character Development. “CSL attempts to take this core value from the theoretical concepts of the classroom and training environment, allowing cadets to put it to the test in real situations, meeting real community needs.”

Cadets collectively volunteer more than 20,000 hours per year for community service, according to Major Ecklund.

“The Alternative Spring Break program is one of the pinnacle events for the CSL program,” he said. “The cadets will sacrifice their vacations to do things from providing a home to a family in need to helping rebuild a school.”

The academy has participated in Alternative Spring Break the past six years.