USAFA Grad Week: Commissioning

Welcome to the second installment of the craziest week of my life!

A few hours after the graduation parade and the department awards, the graduating cadets at the Air Force Academy were commissioned.

That means, they went from cadet rank to 2nd Lieutenant JUST LIKE THAT.

Each cadet got someone to commission them. Dan chose Joe, a good friend of ours. He is the same guy who gave Dan his original USAFA shoulder boards at Acceptance Day back in 2010, so he thought it was appropriate to ask him again.

I was lucky enough to be able to exchange BOTH of Dan's shoulder boards for him. As soon as the short ceremony was over, I got to remove his cadet rank and pin on his butter bars! It was an awesome feeling, one I had been waiting for for a very long time.

Our last picture where he is a cadet!

It was tougher than it looked to pin those darn things on...

It took me quite a while, but I finally got them on there!

My first photo with the brand new 2nd Lieutenant!

Our good friends Ellie and Joe! Joe is the one who commissioned Dan. 

USAFA Grad Week: Graduation Parade

Let me take you all the way back to the last week in May. It was by far the busiest (yet most beautiful) week of my life.

That is the week that the love of my life FINALLY graduated from the US Air Force Academy. It ALSO happens to be the week we got married.

Since the week was so overwhelming for me, I am going to break it down into several posts so that I can look back and enjoy reading about that marvelous week without all the confusion. Sound good? Okay!

First up was the graduation parade. This signifies the very last parade cadets march in at the Academy. They enter the field with their squadrons (all cadets). Only the graduating seniors wear the yellow sash. And when they march back off, they leave alone, without their younger squadmates. It's the same way they enter the parade field four years prior for the Acceptance Day parade when they officially become cadets after basic training.

This experience was very emotional for me. I sat with my good friend Megan, and we were SO giddy that our then fiancés (now husbands) were FINALLY at that point. I remember being so overcome by emotions when the cadets first marched out, realizing that after watching three other classes go through this and seeing three other classes of girlfriends/fiancées get married, it was finally Dan's turn. Our turn.

It was an amazing feeling, and I couldn't wait to hug that man of mine in his parade dress!

This isn't the entire cadet wing by far. This is just a couple squadrons, including Dan's - 39, the Cool Campus Radicals. He's in there somewhere! 

Right after the parade! And no, I didn't mean to match him...

With our friends Megan and Ryan. They also got married and are now at the same base as us! :)

After the parade, there were department awards, and this is Dan being recognized by the Physics Department. 

Graduation Gifts for Friends

This week is graduation week at The US Air Force Academy! It's a week I've been waiting for for FIVE years!

Tomorrow is commissioning, where the cadets have their cadet rank taken of of their shoulders and pin on 2nd Lieutenant. Wednesday is the actual graduation day, complete with 5+ hours inside Falcon Stadium and a performance by the Thunderbirds!

It'll be an exciting week for sure, and there won't be much downtime. Because of that, we got together with Dan's (and mine now) closest cadet friends to all celebrate and spend time together one last time before they all head off to different bases this summer.

Since I have gotten to know them so well over the years, I wanted to give them something personal as a "YAY, CONGRATS; YOU MADE IT THROUGH USAFA" gift. After much deliberation, I decided on making them a collage with photos of all of them together. I made four identical collages, one for Dan, one for Aaron, one for Lindsey, and one for Kaylon! I am so proud of all of their hard work, and they will be amazing officers in the Air Force for years to come.

These four have been together since they were in the same squadron at the USAFA Prep School from 2009 to 2010. They have an amazing friendship, and I'm super sad that we won't be near ANY of them after this week. I will miss them for sure, but we'll definitely visit!

• Have you ever been blessed with AMAZING friends at a base?
• Any tips for staying in touch regularly?