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Vance graduates 29 new Air Force aviators

  • Published
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Twenty-nine students in Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 24-05 received their wings during a ceremony held Feb. 9 at Vance Air Force Base.

Having completed their initial aviation training in the T-6A Texan II, the newly pinned pilots will continue in either the T-1A Jayhawk or the T-38C Talon training programs at Vance.

The guest speaker at the Class 24-05 graduation ceremony was Col. Charles Cooley, the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing commander at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Cooley received his commission through the ROTC program at West Virginia University. He received his pilot wings in 2001 at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

Cooley is a command pilot with more than 3,000 hours, with 1,000 combat/combat support flight hours in the C-17 Globemaster III and the KC-135 Stratotanker.

Class 24-05 award winners were:
Maj. Gregory Yamamoto received the Leadership Award;
2nd Lt. Raymond Peterson received the Academic Award, the Flying Training Award, the Air Education & Training Command Commander’s Trophy and was named a Distinguished Graduate;
2nd Joshua Hull received the Wingman Award;
2nd Lts. Jeffrey Sturgeon and Spencer Guenther were named Distinguished Graduates.

Also receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were:
Capt. Jim Garcia; 2nd Lts. Scott Barnhart, Brody Beaver, Abigail Carter, Joshua Dasher, Thomas Dewald, Ryan Dunkle, Justin Gibson, Benjamin Glass, Samuel Hubbard, Jared Jenkins, Brandon LaFayette, Bogomil Lukanov, Bradley MacLeod, Lachezar Mihaylov, Casey Moya, Traviston Pauly, Joshua Rich, Jack Roy, Ryan Sabol, Nicholas Thornton, Alex Vogel, Adam Winters and Keeley Wrabetz.