LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Twenty-five 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 Nov. 1, 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 speaker at the Class 25-02 graduation ceremony was retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Anthony Rock. He retired as the Inspector General of the Air Force, Washington D.C. and also held Staff Assignments at the Joint Warfighting Center, Air Combat Command, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Forces Iraq, the Air Staff, and the Joint Staff. Rock began his Air Force career at Laughlin, graduating and serving as a T-37 First Assignment Instructor Pilot and flight examiner. His follow-on assignment saw him become an F-15C Eagle instructor pilot and flight examiner, eventually becoming commander of a fighter squadron and Fighter and Air Expeditionary Wings. Rock had over 4,200 flying hours including more than 150 combat hours in the F-15C.
Receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were:
Capt Mark Simpson
Capt Caleb Yee
1st Lt. Preston Albury
1st Lt. Chase Brown
1st Lt. Daniel Cheng
1st Lt. Charles DeRaedt
1st Lt. Ryan Dinndorf
1st Lt. Conrad Kramer
1st Lt. James Pennington III
1st Lt. Nathan Price
1st Lt. Joshua Schmidt
2nd Lt. Dyress Batten
2nd Lt. Jeremiah Cox
2nd Lt. Emily Lukowski
2nd Lt. Bolek Myczkowski
2nd Lt. Katherine Newberry
2nd Lt. Alex Olson
2nd Lt. William Onderdonk IV
2nd Lt. Gavin Peene
2nd Lt. Boyd Rieke
2nd Lt. Liam Ryan
2nd Lt. Jacob Schultz
2nd Lt. Isaac Sletten
2nd Lt. Gage Stevens
2nd Lt. Szymon Szabat
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. Amanda Thorsen, 47th Student Squadron director of operations. “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 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 from student 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.