LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Forty-nine U.S. Air Force officers were awarded the coveted silver wings as a symbol of their hard work and training during a graduation ceremony held Sept. 20, 2024.
Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) is a training program that helps prepare prospective military pilots. Upon completion of the program, graduates earn their silver wings as Air Force aviators.
The speaker at the Class 24-15 graduation ceremony was U.S. Air Force Col. Jesse Caldwell, 47th Flying Training Wing, deputy commander, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. Caldwell received his commission in 2001 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Clemson University, South Carolina. As a mobility pilot, he has flown the C-130E/H and KC-135R/T aircraft supporting numerous contingency operations in Southwest Asia. He was selected for Air Mobility Command's PHOENIX REACH program in 2008 and later served as an Air Officer. commanding at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has over 3,300 flight hours performing combat airlift, airdrop, aeromedical evacuation, and air refueling missions. Prior to assuming his current position, Colonel Caldwell was the Director of Operations, 618th Air Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
Receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were:
Capt. James Kersey
Capt. Drake McCall
Capt. John Seiter
Capt. Karen Suarez Medina
1st Lt. Sebastian Almonte Orosco
1st Lt. Catherine Cavanaugh
1st Lt. Nicholas Gabert
1st Lt. Blake Py
2nd Lt. Michael Abraham
2nd Lt. Brennan Anderson
2nd Lt. Garrett Anderson
2nd Lt. Austin Barok
2nd Lt. Alexander Bergemann
2nd Lt. William Brinson
2nd Lt. Skylar Burke
2nd Lt. Ryan Campbell
2nd Lt. Brannon Davis
2nd Lt. Mallory Dawes
2nd Lt. Barrick DeBoni
2nd Lt. Michael Dolgos
2nd Lt. Dylan Frankhouser
2nd Lt. Hunter Fujitani
2nd Lt. Eduardo Garcia
2nd Lt. David Gochnour
2nd Lt. Zachary Haggett
2nd Lt. Grant Hardy
2nd Lt. Justin Harmon
2nd Lt. Stephen Herrick
2nd Lt. Samuel Johnson
2nd Lt. Matthew Kanney
2nd Lt. Ian Keel
2nd Lt. Ian Keller
2nd Lt. Joseph Lee
2nd Lt. Kenton Leffler
2nd Lt. Dallas Meldrum
2nd Lt. Wesley Mills
2nd Lt. Jonathan Owen
2nd Lt. Jacob Petrick
2nd Lt. Byron Powell
2nd Lt. William Radtke
2nd Lt. Justin Ratcliffe
2nd Lt. George Ritchie
2nd Lt. Thomas Rottinghaus
2nd Lt. Chanakya Sharma
2nd Lt. Jaclyn Snyder
2nd Lt. Joshua Sorensen
2nd Lt. William Tuepker
2nd Lt. Rafael Vasco
In addition to the graduation ceremony, a special emphasis was placed on recognizing the sacrifices and contributions of military spouses. It served as a reminder that while the graduates were the ones receiving their wings, their achievements were also a testament to the love, sacrifice and constant support of their spouses, who serve alongside them in spirit and strength.
“Military spouses are often said to ‘live in the shadows’,” said Lt Col. Elizabeth Music, Commander of the 47th Student Squadron. “Although not in uniform, spouses have an essential role to play and are the backbone of the military community. Tonight is about your pilots earning their wings, but also a recognition of you. Your love, sacrifice and ad nauseam quizzing of bold face procedures has not gone unnoticed.”
The ceremony proceeded with the breaking of the wings, a tradition symbolizing the start of a new journey for the novice pilots. According to the tradition, the first pair of wings a pilot receives should never be worn. Instead, the wings should be broken into two halves to invite good fortune throughout the pilot’s aviation career. One half is kept by the pilot, while the other is given to a significant person in their life. To preserve that good luck, those two halves are said to only be brought together again in the next life.
The event culminated in the pinning of the wings, where friends and family members affixed a pair of silver wings onto the graduates’ uniforms. This gesture signified the official transition of the students into winged aviators, fully prepared to embrace the forthcoming roles within the United States Air Force.
Pilot wings are a symbol of hard work, training, and dedication. Aviation wings are issued to pilots who have achieved a certain level of proficiency or training.