LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Twenty-nine U.S. Air Force and Romanian officers were awarded the coveted silver wings as a symbol of their hard work and training during a graduation ceremony held Jan. 29, 2026.
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 26-05 graduation ceremony was U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Slade. Slade is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Slade is responsible for assisting in the generation, presentation and sustainment of U.S. Space Force combat-ready space, cyberspace, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and combat support forces. Additionally, he assists the commander in his service force provider role to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Space Operations for sourcing, training, certifying and assessing the readiness of America’s Space Forces to execute service and combatant commander-assigned missions.
Receiving their pilot wings during the ceremony were:
Capt. Dustin Pennington
Capt. Christopher Taylor
1st Lt. Madison Gillian
1st Lt. Candace Henderson
1st Lt. Dragos Poserba
1st Lt. Eduard Sandu
2nd Lt. Jacob Avelar
2nd Lt. William Bailey
2nd Lt. Ayushi Bansal
2nd Lt. Keegan Eitter
2nd Lt. Xavier Gaefke
2nd Lt. Caleb Gianotti
2nd Lt. Luke Hilliard
2nd Lt. Jonathan Holbrook
2nd Lt. Natalie Howes
2nd Lt. Stephen Kirby
2nd Lt. Ethan Kwun
2nd Lt. Matthew Lee
2nd Lt. Kenzaburo Nagahama
2nd Lt. Colton O’Dell
2nd Lt. Luke Palalay
2nd Lt. Alex Patton
2nd Lt. Aaron Powers
2nd Lt. James Russ
2nd Lt. Christian Sherman
2nd Lt. Kevin Sisk
2nd Lt. Remi Smith
2nd Lt. Dylan Steele
2nd Lt. Mason Vasta
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.