LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Twenty-one 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 Aug. 21, 2025.
Undergraduate Pilot Training 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 guest speaker at the Class 25-14 graduation ceremony was U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus. Pleus is the acting Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the Director of Staff, Headquarters Air Force, The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In his role, he synchronizes an integrates policy, plans, positions, procedures and cross-functional issues for the headquarters staff. He has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels and was a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow at Sun Microsystems in California. A command pilot, he has over 2,500 hours in the F-35, F-16, AT-38, T-38 and T-37.
Receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were:
Capt. Alex Blanke
Capt. Victoria Colwell
Capt. Westley Pitts
1st Lt. Annie Amrhein
1st Lt. Andrew Bainbridge
1st Lt. Austin Brimm
1st Lt. Hayden Isenhart
1st Lt. Enrique Rosado-Zambrana
2nd Lt. Ian Clements
2nd Lt. Jasmine Donehue
2nd Lt. Christina Eager
2nd Lt. Gunnar Gobel
2nd Lt. Grace Godwin
2nd Lt. Robert Jones
2nd Lt. Kray Jubeck
2nd Lt. Matthew Metz
2nd Lt. Lucy Nester
2nd Lt. Zach Ricciardi
2nd Lt. Amado Strestha
2nd Lt. Grant Thomas
2nd Lt. Jett Townson
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.
“Tonight, we not only recognize the accomplishments of our pilots, but we take a moment to celebrate our Air Force spouses.” said Lt. Col. Aaron Borszich, 47th Student Squadron commander. “While not in uniform, spouses are the backbone of our Air Force community. We thank you for your love and support. We thank you for celebrating with us when we slip the surely bonds of earth. And we thank you for comforting and encouraging us after a flight does not go as planned. Tonight, you and your spouse have crested one of the hardest climbs in an Air Force career and you did it together. But this was just the start.”
In the days leading up to graduation, Laughlin’s aircraft maintainers and student pilots participated in an appreciation ceremony to recognize the partnership between their respective roles. Maintainers presented pilots with the wings they would pin during the graduation event. In return, the student pilots offered their class patch as a token of appreciation. The exchange serves as a reminder that successful flight training is a team effort, supported by the contributions of dedicated personnel across the base.
The ceremony proceeded with the breaking of the wings, a tradition symbolizing the start of a new journey for the novice pilots. According to the 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 of the students 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.