LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Twenty-five U.S. Air Force and Vietnamese officers were awarded the coveted silver wings as a symbol of their hard work and training during a graduation ceremony held Oct. 9, 2025.
Undergraduate Pilot Training 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 guest speaker at the Class 26-01 graduation ceremony was retired U.S. Air Force Col. Scott Neil P. Oakden. Oakden entered the Air Force in 1992 after graduating from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University with a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He served as a Deputy Group Commander, Squadron Commander, Squadron Operations Officer, Wing Chief of Safety, Wing Inspector General, and Wing Director of Staff. He earned the title of command pilot with more than 2,400 flying hours across various airframes including the T-37, T-38A, AT-38B, T-38C, and F-16C and D models and currently serves as a contract sim instructor at Shaw Air Force Base, where he is training the next generation of warfighters in the F-16 simulator.
Receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were:
Capt. Dung Mahn Tran
1st Lt. Julia Acevedo
1st Lt. Nathanael Bean
1st Lt. Dylan Bumpus
1st Lt. Aidan Gardiner
1st Lt. Christian Ingersoll
1st Lt. Garth Knutson
1st Lt. Jaret Prete
2nd Lt. Theodore Accardi
2nd Lt. Joshua Bowman
2nd Lt. Griffen Coburn
2nd Lt. Peter Cornell
2nd Lt. Jonathan Diaz
2nd Lt. Cameron Dye
2nd Lt. Rayleigh Finsterbusch
2nd Lt. Augustus Gedney
2nd Lt. Seth Ivanoff
2nd Lt. Patrick Jackson
2nd Lt. John Leddy
2nd Lt. Jeffrey Malone
2nd Lt. Dylan Marcelle
2nd Lt. Matthew Minnich
2nd Lt. Patrick Oakden
2nd Lt. Steven Owens
2nd Lt. Noah Ross
In addition to the graduation ceremony, 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.
“Tonight, we not only recognize the accomplishments of our pilots, but we take a moment to celebrate our Air Force spouses.” said Lt. Col. Aaron Borszich, 47th Student Squadron commander. “While not in uniform, spouses are the backbone of our Air Force community. We thank you for your love and support. We thank you for celebrating with us when we slip the surely bonds of earth. And we thank you for comforting and encouraging us after a flight does not go as planned. Tonight, you and your spouse have crested one of the hardest climbs in an Air Force career and you did it together. But this was just the start.”
In the days leading up to graduation, Laughlin’s aircraft maintainers and student pilots participated in an appreciation ceremony to recognize the partnership between their respective roles. Maintainers presented pilots with the wings they would pin during the graduation event. In return, the student pilots offered their class patch as a token of appreciation. The exchange serves as a reminder that successful flight training is a team effort, supported by the contributions of dedicated personnel across the base.
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.