Seventeen 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 Jan. 9, 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 guest speaker at the Class 25-04 graduation ceremony was Retired Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, a distinguished veteran with 31 years of service. Wills began his career in 1990 as a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Arizona. He began his aviation career as a navigator in the F-15E Strike Eagle then training in the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training and Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. He amassed over 2,500 flying hours in the F-15C and F-15E. Throughout his career, Wills held command positions at the squadron, group, and wing levels and served on the staff of the Pacific Air Forces, 7th Air Force, and U.S. Forces Korea. He retired following his time as the 19th Air Force commander, where he was responsible for over 36,000 personnel, 1,608 aircraft, 17 Total Force Wings across the U.S. and 45% of the Air Force’s annual flying hour program.
Receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were:
1st Lt. Bapster Koh
1st Lt. Brandon Villejo
2nd Lt. Emily Balling
2nd Lt. Lauren Brashear
2nd Lt. Benny Chung
2nd Lt. Christopher Collins
2nd Lt. Harrison Deisroth
2nd Lt. Nicholas Eberhardt
2nd Lt. Brayden Ford
2nd Lt. Nate Goodman
2nd Lt. James Harding
2nd Lt. Marshall Jones
2nd Lt. Ryan Kendzior
2nd Lt. Perry McIntire
2nd Lt. Wyatt Park
2nd Lt. Jason Shuger
2nd Lt. Nicholas Swanson
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. Christopher Cherry, 434th Flying Training Squadron commander. “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 novice pilots. According to 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.
| Date Taken: | 01.10.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.17.2025 16:24 |
| Story ID: | 488987 |
| Location: | LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 7 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Graduating the future of flight: Class 25-04, by SSgt Nicholas Larsen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
