Troy University art professor Greg Skaggs has designed this year’s book for the Air Command and Staff College’s Gathering of Eagles.

The annual education event allows the community and military members to learn from and honor “Eagles,” people who have significantly contributed to air, space and cyberspace power.

Each year, the Gathering of Eagles involves a class at Maxwell Air Force Base’s air college crafting biographies for individuals to be honored as Eagles.

Skaggs provided portraits and artwork for last year’s book, and this year’s features his design as well.

“The artist creates a portrait of each Eagle and a profile or piece of artwork related to the aircraft,” Skaggs said. “I have a hobby that relates to it. I collect World War 2 logbooks, pilot logs, and so this is something I’ve always been interested in.”

Skaggs said the project involved a lot of work, including the book itself and the Gathering of Eagles poster, which can be purchased online along with the book at shop.goefoundation.org.

“It’s been a fun project,” Skaggs said. “This year, there’s a Tuskegee airman involved in the group. It’s kind of a dream for me to read about a lot of these people, and to meet quite a few of them. This is something I’m really excited about being a part of.”

The first official Gathering of Eagles occurred in 1982, and since then figures such as Chuck Yeager, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn and George H.W. Bush have served as Eagles.