USAFA graduates commended for work, challenged to continue the fight

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Hundreds of U.S. Air Force Academy cadets became graduates this week. 

Of the 909 new officers, more than 400 are pilots, while 93 are new members of Space Force. 

Thursday’s ceremony at Falcon Stadium will also be remembered as one of the soggier in recent memory. 

In a rare move, the Thunderbirds demonstration squadrom had to cancel their traditional flyover and post-graduation air show due to a persistent low layer of clouds above Colorado Springs and light rain that turned heavy at times throughout the day. 

The weather, however, provided a reminder that the graduation is more about the cadets and their families than an air show. 

They arrived at the Academy in June of 2021, the beginning of a grueling four years of training both inside and outside the classroom. 

USAFA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind summed it up with the words, “Who you were in June of 2021 is not who you are today.” 

In his first graduation address since arriving at the Academy in the fall of 2024, Bauernfeind commended the new second lieutenants for their perseverance. 

“You accepted the challenge and embraced the warrior ethos our nation demands with a focus on readiness in all forms,” he said. 

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, just confirmed a week earlier, added, “We gave you a motto, never quit, never settle. And you haven't quit, and you haven't settled.” 

Meink spoke at length about the growing threat from China and the Indo Pacific region, noting that it was a top priority of the Trump administration. 

He recognized that while life at the academy wasn't easy for the cadets, the global competition for air and space superiority is just as intense. 

"Today's competition with China is wide-ranging and it is unpredictable.  There will be no sanctuaries, and many of our assumptions about air and space power will change.  If we continue to operate as we have in the past, we will fail in the future,” Meink said. 

It was a call to action that the cadets feel they are ready to answer. 

"I think this institution has really trained us well for future upcoming conflicts,” explained Ashley McCoy, a new grad. “One of the heavy hitters that we have here is adaptability, and so they really have been training us to be warfighters to win, and I trust that every single individual that graduated today is gonna do great in fulfilling that.” 

And while there were no jets thundering overhead, the words ‘Class of 2025 dismissed’ alone were all these graduates needed. 

The graduates will now get 60 days off before reporting for duty to their next stations. 

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