Graduating the future of flight: Class 24-14 Published Aug. 26, 2024 By Senior Airman Keira Rossman 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Twenty-seven 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 Aug. 23, 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 24-14 graduation ceremony was Col. Joseph McCane, 47th Operations Group commander, at Laughlin AFB, Texas. He leads 1,100 personnel in training U.S. and allied pilots. McCane commissioned in 2001 through Air Force ROTC at the University of Oklahoma and started his career at Laughlin as a first assignment instructor pilot. He has since flown various aircraft, including the C-17A and C-130, and deployed multiple times in support of global operations. McCane is a command pilot with over 1,500 combat hours and over 5,800 hours in the T-37C Talon, T-6A Texan II, T-1A Jayhawk, C-17, C-130 E/H, BE-350, DHC-6, and C-208. Receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were: Capt. Matthew Nielsen 1st Lt. Josiah Anderson 1st Lt. Sean Bedwell 1st Lt. Christopher Chwa 1st Lt. Bradley Guild 1st Lt. Christopher Kirk 1st Lt. Emily Oakley 2nd Lt. Jae Man Bae 2nd Lt. Valerie Calvert 2nd Lt. Isaac Chang 2nd Lt. Patrick Delle 2nd Lt. Cassandra Dudas 2nd Lt. Michael Francheschi 2nd Lt. Derian Gewecke-Kreutz 2nd Lt. Brianna Giardino 2nd Lt. Ana Gomez-Martinez 2nd Lt. Derek Lesueur 2nd Lt. Zachary Lietzke 2nd Lt. Jonah Loewe 2nd Lt. Grace O’Brien 2nd Lt. John Paschall 2nd Lt. Ian Rodriguez 2nd Lt. Patrick Ryan 2nd Lt. Rupert Shaw 2nd Lt. Zachary Thorley 2nd Lt. Emily Vance 2nd Lt. Jesse West 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, 47th Student 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 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.