Three Air Force Academy cadets joined the quarterback of the academy’s football team on Wednesday in receiving their commission as second lieutenants in the Air Force.
The cadets were handed their diplomas during a ceremony led by Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, the academy’s superintendent. It came about seven months after most of the class of 2012 received their commission, when President Barack Obama visited Falcon Stadium in May.
Wednesday’s graduation — along with the commission of six cadets in August — brought the number of graduates in the class of 2012 to 1,083, according to the academy.
Two graduates, Raymond Charles Crone III, of Douglasville, Ga., and Jonathan Sungsoo Yi, of Seoul, Korea, are slated to begin pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas.
Cadet Erik Soderberg, of Eden Prairie, Minn., plans to serve as a special tactics officer at Florida’s Hurlburt Field. Soderberg was the second football player to receive his commission Wednesday.
Connor Dietz, who grew up in Columbus, Ohio, was given his diploma after guiding the football team to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, which will be played Dec. 29 against Rice University. As quarterback, he passed for 1,127 yards and ran for 658 yards.
Dietz plans to become a logistics officer at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. His stay at the academy was lengthened after he broke a hand his sophomore year and was forced to spread out his coursework.
The academy did not state why the other cadets’ commission was delayed.