The school moved to Bandung in 1939, and during Japanese occupation in 1942 there had been a number of native-born alumni who had previously trained in the Koninklijke Militaire Academie.

Assisted by Agustinus Adisucipto, another ML-KNIL veteran who served in the independence forces, the academy opened its doors on its current campus, what is now the Adisutjipto Air Force Base, on 15 November 1945, assuming its current name in 1965 and in the late 1960s adopted its present-day 4-year officer cadet course for air officer cadets.

Its fourth class cadets (freshmen) are sometimes referred to as "doolies," a term derived from the Greek word δοῦλος ("doulos") meaning "slave" or "servant.

"a The Air Force officer, while on his visit, also dropped by General James H. "Jimmy" Doollitle, USAF, the hero of the Doolittle Raid of 1942, the very same year the Netherlands East Indies was occupied by Imperial Japanese military and naval forces, who was nicknamed "Mr.Doolly" and "The Doolles" by everyone, including the USAFA cadets and servicemen who served with him.

The academic program consists of a structured core of subjects depending on the cadet's chosen specialty as a future Air Force officer, balanced between the arts and sciences, in his/her chosen speciality branch (combat commands, combat support, air materiel, aerospace engineering and administration).

Thus it has a sizable number of foreign exchange cadets who graduate with a bachelor's degree and return to their countries of origin to serve as Second Lieutenants in their air forces.

^a Although the official literature from the US Air Force Academy still uses the word "doolie" extensively, the term was never particularly popular with cadets and fell into disuse.

Don Hall, USAFA Class of '76, created the popular character "Waldo F. Dumbsquat, whose Svejk-like innocence and good intentions overcome his abysmal ineptitude.