BCT Field Day

After a long lapse, I'm back at the Academy. I picked up media staff for Basic Cadet Training (how fitting) so I'll be updating the blog with posts about 2nd BCT.

Today, the basics had field day. It's a four hour athletic competition between the different squadrons and one of the few fun days for the new basics. They concluded the day with a trip to the rodeo while their new cadre moved in. Tomorrow is Doolie Day Out and the march to Jack's Valley follows on Monday.

Two basics from Guts squadron compete in the relay

A basic from Hellcats gets a little motivation from her cadre in the tug of war

The Hellcats discuss strategy before the log relay

A basic from Demons is carried away after defeating the cadre in the sprint relay

USAFA Graduation

The iconic hat toss from a different angle

The most memorable and happiest time of a cadet's career, graduation is the step into the real Air Force. Earlier today, 1073 Firsties received their diplomas and a handshake from President Obama and officially commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants.

President Obama accepts the class gift; a painting of Air Force One and
an Academy athletic jacket

Graduation is the accumulation of four years of endless work and sacrifice. It represents the transition from a lowly cadet to an officer in the world's finest air force. Over 12,000 young men and women apply for acceptance each year and only a select few receive the opportunity to attend.

Each graduate receives a Bachelor of Science degree in a specific area of study. It certainly is quite an accomplishment that every cadet and family member should be proud of.

The weather started out beautiful in the morning. Warm temperatures and a slight breeze made for a comfortable graduation ceremony. As the day progressed, however, clouds moved in and it became a bit chilly in the upper levels. Thankfully the rain held off until after the Thunderbirds' show.

The family of Michael Paranka cheers as he receives his diploma

The commencement speakers rotate on a four year schedule. This year's speaker was the Honorable Barack Obama. Security was tight and limited movement but he was an excellent speaker and it was really cool to see the Commander in Chief interact with his new officers.

President Obama spoke for about 15 minutes and gave some inspiring words to the young officers. A transcript of the speech can be found here.

After his speech, Brigadier General Dana Born, Dean of Faculty, spoke a few words about the distinguished graduates. Distinguished graduates are the top 10% of the graduating class. Among them are those who finished at the top of their class academically, militarily, and athletically.

The entire ceremony lasts for a couple of hours and is concluded by an aerial demonstration from the Air Force's premiere demonstration team, the Thunderbirds. Photos are after the jump.

This will probably be my last post until Basic Training begins. I have the privilege of photographing second BCT and will be providing updates and photos throughout. Depending on whether anything cool happens while I am in Alaska for Ops, there may be a post or two beforehand.

The Air Force Thunderbirds in a four man formation

The Thunderbirds perform the "Calypso Pass"

The two single Thunderbirds cross each other in a daring move

Air Force Hockey Advances to the Semifinals

These are a little late so I apologize. It's GR season and I was swamped with work.

Anyways, Air Force defeated the UConn Huskies in three games to move on to the Atlantic Hockey League semifinals in New York. The Cadet Ice Arena was packed with rowdy cadets and fans who supported the Falcons through their difficult endeavor. The Falcons won 4-3 in game one on Friday, lost 3-1 Saturday, and won 4-3 in game three on Sunday.

I spent most of the final game trying to get good shots of the goalie. They came out pretty decent. Pictures are below.

Dan Weissenhofer is announced to the starting lineups.

The falcons net a goal.

Casey Kleisinger (7) scores.

Ryan Timar makes his way out to the ice

Goalie Jason Torf makes a stop

Goalie Stephen Caple comes of the bench and makes a glove save.

Caple started game three and made 28 saves in the Falcon's win on Sunday.

Caple stretches to stop a wide shot.

Seniors Scott Mathis (23) and Tim Kirby (25) being honored after the game

In other news, recognition for the freshmen begins after the last military duty on Thursday afternoon and runs until Saturday afternoon. Pictures and stories will be posted throughout the event.

If you have questions about recognition, the USAFA Folklore Wiki can give some guidance: http://69.199.231.171/wiki/index.php/Recognition.

Go Falcons!

2012 Cadet Wing Open

The annual Air Force Academy Cadet Wing Open was held last night in Clune Arena. Nine bouts were held with the winners claiming the number one varsity spot for the Academy's boxing team. They will travel and compete around the nation before returning to the Academy for the NCBA National Championships April 5-7.

Results:
112 lbs: Drew Pineda
119 lbs: Justin Zahn
125 lbs: Roy Taylor def. Stephen Bittner
132 lbs: Andrew Munoz def. Will Peterson
139 lbs: Dan Starr def. Ethan Salgado
147 lbs: Glenn Miltenberg def. Craig Spranger
156 lbs: Tyrus Korecki def. Blaze Dunn
165 lbs: Casey Habluetzel def. Chris Nelson
175 lbs: Mike McLain def. Denis Vorobyov
185 lbs: Zac Spranger
195 lbs: Logan Brandt def. Brian Corcoran
Heavy:  Olawale Lawal def. Joseph Okai

(You can click on an image to get a larger view and scroll through each of them)

Bittner tries to block a punch by Taylor.

Roy Taylor lands a shot on Stephen Bittner

Taylor lands another punch

Munoz (Blue) and Peterson trade jabs

Munoz lands a shot

Glenn Miltenberg and Craig Spranger
trade blows on the ropes

Boxer Chris Nelson

Blaze Dunn gets his nose plugged after his bout

Vorobyov stares down McLain

McLain dodges Vorobyov's shot

Mike McLain lands one on Denis Vorobyov

Vorobyov recoils from the hit

McLain connects with a solid left hook

McLain gets knocked off balance by Vorobyo

Joseph Okai prepares himself for his bout

Olawale Lawal connects with his right

CS-12's Spirit Video

The freshmen from CS-12 (my squad) made a spirit video for their day of 40 days. It was actually pretty decent and got a round of applause from the cadet wing in Mitchell Hall. Video after the jump.

A little background on why this was made. During the second semester, the four degrees get recognized, where they become "accepted" into the cadet wing. It's an intense three days of strenuous physical training and psychological warfare (sort of). It all concludes with the pinning on of the prop and wings, which solidifies them as an upperclassman. Recognition begins on Thursday March 15th this year. Leading up to recognition, the four degrees go through "Forty Days." It's a time when training becomes more intense and the upperclassmen become stricter and increasingly demanding of the freshmen. Each day corresponds with a squadron and on their day, the four degrees do a spirit mission. Recently, there have been less physical spirit missions such as painting the planes, building something on spirit hill, etc, and more spirit videos. Only about 1 in 10 is actually worth watching. If their spirit missions are not up to expectations, the freshmen can expect harder training. It's all in good fun though.

Starry Night

It was cold and crisp last night. The stars were out so I decided to try my luck with some nighttime photography. There's a lot of light pollution so they aren't as crisp and you can't see as many stars as you can in the country.

A black and white of the chapel with the stars overhead.

 Two color photos of the night sky above the mountains. The photo on the right is of Harmon Hall, the administrative building. And if you look closely at the left one, you can see a trail left by a plane.

Hockey Falls to Mercyhurst

The Falcon's played a lopsided game against Mercyhurst Saturday night but came out with a loss 2-1. Air Force out shot the Lakers 51-19 and dominated the time on attack. It was a very physical game with many hard checks and scuffles after the play. Even the fans got involved at some points.

Air Force Upsets San Diego State

The Air Force men's basketball team pulled off an upset against the No. 13 ranked, San Diego State Aztecs.