Air Force Academy Graduation Parade
I just got back from the big parade the Air Force Academy puts on the day before graduation. It’s significance is to have all four thousand cadets march out onto the parade grounds in their usual fashion and then have the graduating class break off from the three classes of underclassmen. It’s a huge deal for the graduates, as its the first time in four years they are really able to set themselves apart from their fellow cadets.
Before the parade started I was able to meet Titanium, one of the Academys falcons. Not sure what role falcons play in todays Air Force, must be a sort of last line of defense.
The parade opened with a real cool demo of the schools parachute teams. It was made that much cooler when it became clear that one of the cadets who had just jumped from 12,000 feet was a real cute blond. Women don’t belong on the front lines my ass. Just as long as they are hot blonds we could end wars just by shoving them out of planes and distracting the enemy with their overwhelming hotness.
Next up was a flyby of a C-17 Globe Master, and a squad of F-15’s. These photos may not look too impressive, but after the flyby I was left with whole new appreciation for just how horrifying these aircraft must be in combat. The sound just rattles your innards. And this wasn’t even our good stuff.
The view of 4,000 soon to be commissioned officers entering the parade grounds was amazing. I don’t have anything witty to add and this photo doesn’t do the sight justice.
What was really moving though was the underclassmen leaving the parade grounds after the graduating class had broken off. Each squad paraded by independently and saluted their respective graduating squad members before heading off the grounds and back to the campus.
Tonight is the commissioning ceremony where my cousin will officially be commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force. Part of the tradition is for the newly commissioned officer to salute the first enlisted airman that he sees. My grandfather, who flew bombing missions over Europe during WWII, is here with us and will be the enlisted airman my cousin salutes. I’m sure it sounds a little corny, but my grandfather is one of those guys that doesn’t like to talk about his time in Europe and hates the word hero. My cousin is really the only person who knows anything about his time in the service as my Grandfather gave him all of his journals from the war when he came to the Academy. Should be an interesting moment.
Comments
Leave a Reply
