Colorado Springs, Colorado. (June 11, 2024): In this photo by Trevor Cokley, Air Force Academy Cadets dance a jig upon receiving their diploma this week. Held at Falcon Stadium, nine hundred and seventy-four Cadets crossed the stage to become Air Force second lieutenants.

Although a separate and distinct branch, the Class of 2024 included ninety-three Space Force officers who trained alongside their Air Force counterparts. This year’s class also included fifteen international students from allied nations around the world. Roughly thirty seven percent were selected to attend undergraduate pilot training.

This first Air Force Academy class graduated in 1959 and was tiny by today’s standards. This crop of cadets is certainly a smart bunch with an average GPA of 3.68 and SAT scores approaching seven hundred in reading and writing and mathematics. It was also a highly diverse class with sixty nine percent males and thirty nine percent women with twenty three percent racial or ethnic minorities.

Support Our Troops congratulates the Class of 2024 as they joyously celebrate the beginning of their Air Force/Space Force careers.