VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Eighteen lieutenants received their pilot wings during Class 16-14’s graduation ceremony held here Sept. 9.
Fifteen will leave here for other bases and additional flight training. Three will remain to become first-assignment instructor pilots in both the T-6A Texan II and T-1A Jawhawk.
The one international allied student in Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 16-14 will return to Singapore to fly fighter aircraft.
The ceremony, held in the base auditorium, was attended by guests, family and friends of Class 16-14. Also attending was SUPT Class 17-14, the newest class of student pilots.
The graduation speaker was Col. Charles Ohliger, vice commander of the 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
Following Ohliger, individual awards and pilot wings were presented to the graduates.
Award winners for Class 16-14 were:
Academic Excellence in the T-1A Jayhawk, 2nd Lt. Jeremiah Hymas; T-38 Talon, 1st Lt. Zane Lim.
Leadership Award in the T-1, 2nd Lt. Caleb DeGroot; T-38, 2nd Lt. Adam Grafiada.
Flying Training Award in the T-1, 2nd Lt. Jeremiah Hymas; T-38, 2nd Lt. Adam Grafiada.
Distinguished Graduates in the T-1, 2nd Lt. Jeremiah Hymas; T-38, 2nd Lt. Adam Grafiada.
The Daedalian AETC Commander’s Trophy in the T-1, 2nd Lt. Jeremiah Hymas; T-38, 2nd Lt. Adam Grafiada.
Recipients of the Risner River Rats Awards were: T-1, 2nd Lt. Timothy Friess; T-38, 2nd Lt. Adam Grafiada.
Graduates of Class 16-14 were: 1st Lts. Jeremiah S. Weakley, Cole K. Holloway, Zane Lim, 2nd Lts. Joseph L. Coomes III, Caleb J. DeGroot, Justin M. Fegurgur, Sean R. Fernando, Timothy M. Friess, Adam E. Grafiada, Jeremiah L. Hymas, Jay R. Pothula, Michael E. Pyrch, Hayden T. Rodel, Logan A. Schneider, Brenden H. Small, Nestor A. Soriano, Lisa A. Ventura and Ty A. Wojtysiak.
The new pilots received assignments for training in the:
KC-135 Stratotanker, an aerial refueling and transport aircraft;
C-17 Globemaster III, the Air Force’s newest, most flexible cargo aircraft;
C-130 Hercules, a tactical airlift-vehicle capable of operating from undeveloped airfields;
F-15 Eagle, a dual-role fighter designed to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions;
AC-130, a close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance aircraft;
F-22 Raptor, a fighter that combines stealth, supercruise, maneuverability and integrated avionics;
E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft;
CV-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft that combines qualities of a helicopter with the long-range, fuel efficiency and speed of a turboprop aircraft;
T-6A Texan II, a single-engine, two-seat primary trainer designed to train students in basic flying skills;
T-1A Jayhawk, a medium-range, twin-engine jet trainer used to train students selected to fly airlift or tanker aircraft.