Forty-four students receive their wings during landmark graduation Published Aug. 11, 2026 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Forty-four students in pilot training here graduated during a ceremony held Aug. 7 at the Stride Bank Center in Enid, Oklahoma. Two classes attended the graduation. Class 26-13 was the last group of students trained in the current syllabus. Class 26-15 was the first group trained under the Future of Undergraduate Pilot Training syllabus. The newly pinned pilots will continue training at Vance, or transition to their next base to train in their assigned aircraft. The graduation speaker was retired Air Force Col. Nathan Scopac, whose final command was the 492nd Special Operations Training Group at Hurlburt Field, Florida. He is a command pilot, basic navigator and basic parachutist with more than 4,300 flight hours, and 700 combat hours. He has flown a variety of aircraft including the AC-130, MC-130 and the C-130 E & J models. Class 26-13 award winners were: 2nd Lt. Finn Garrigan – Academic Award Capt. William O’Donnell – Leadership Award 2nd Lt. Trevor Bradley – Flying Training Award 2nd Lt. Rebecca Collins – Top Wingman Award Capt. William O’Donnell – Distinguished Graduate 2nd Lt. Trevor Bradley – Distinguished Graduate 2nd Lt. Trevor Bradley – AETC Commander’s Trophy Class 26-15 award winners were: 2nd Lt. Hunter De Leon – Academic Award 2nd Lt. Garrick Lewellyn – Leadership Award 2nd Lt. Hunter De Leon – Flying Training Award 2nd Lt. Emma Dunaway – Top Wingman Award 2nd Lt. Hunter De Leon – Distinguished Graduate 2nd Lt. Ian McGrath – Distinguished Graduate 2nd Lt. Hunter De Leon – AETC Commander’s Trophy Also receiving their wings during the ceremony were: Class 26-13 graduates: 1st Lt. Vu Khac Thai 1st Lt. Ryota Yanagiya 1st Lt. Koki Wada 2nd Lt. Bridger Armstrong 2nd Lt. Asa Arnold 2nd Lt. Timothy Brahan 2nd Lt. Mitchell Brown 2nd Lt. Colton Choat 2nd Lt. James DeMarque 2nd Lt. Micah Duerk 2nd Lt. Evan Durgarian 2nd Lt. Sterling Hasek 2nd Lt. John Henderson 2nd Lt. Sophia Leonard 2nd Lt. William Macoubrie 2nd Lt. Ignacio Ocando 2nd Lt. Christina Phan 2nd Lt. Andrew Thaler 2nd Lt. Jareth Tosses 2nd Lt. Brandon Williams Class 26-15 graduates: 1st Lt. Ryan Del Rosario 1st Lt. Hector Natividad 2nd Lt. Rawad AL-Zouhbi 2nd Lt. Milan Bago 2nd Lt. Crishelle Baltazar 2nd Lt. Timothy Bouma 2nd Lt. Connor Burns 2nd Lt. Liam Dearden 2nd Lt. Greta Lazar 2nd Lt. Conner Grumbles 2nd Lt. Austin Lee 2nd Lt. Jonathan Miller 2nd Lt. Ashlee Phillips 2nd Lt. Sarah Reed 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Sasse 2nd Lt. Faith Schmidt