A sea of ponchos covering family and friends flooded into Falcon Stadium to watch more than 900 cadets from the Air Force Academy toss their hats in the air and commission as second lieutenants Thursday.

Booming cheers could be heard as graduates walked the stage in spite of the cold, gloomy downcast of fog that hovered over the stadium. Temperatures were in the 40s and 50s.

But the weather that canceled the Thunderbirds’ airshow couldn’t dim the brilliant smiles and inspiring stories.

From ‘the baby’ to Air Force pilot  

“It’s surreal. I’m still in denial that he’s graduating,” said Jeff Lingaolingao, the father of graduating cadet, Tristan.

Tristan Lingaolingao has aspired to be a pilot since he was 4 , according to his parents.

Growing up in California, Jeff LingaoLingao said his son has always wanted to be a pilot because of his grandfather, who was also an Air Force pilot. Jeff said his son’s goal is to fly a C-17 plane, a large military transport aircraft.

Through the lens of his father, Tristan’s commission as a second lieutenant has been a journey with roadblocks that were bulldozed through.

Jeff said his son originally didn’t get into the pilot program but made it happen through persistence and his cool head in times of struggle, such as when he was guiding student pilots.

Jeff recalled a time when one of Tristan’s students vomited on him and the canopy of the plane while they were in the air.

“He doesn’t freak out. He was grossed out, he said he even puked in his own mouth a little, but he got on the radio, told the tower he needed an emergency landing, and they were able to land safely together,” Jeff said.

As the oldest grandchild, the family nicknamed Tristan “the baby,” but his commissioning has changed that.

“Yesterday, he was our baby. Today, he is a pilot. But he’s always going to be our son, and we’re incredibly proud of him,” Jeff said.

A culture shock that almost made him quit

Other commissioned cadets from the academy have plans to enter into the Space Force.

Tony Newsom, a father from Arlington, Texas, came to the academy to watch his son, Kendall Newsom, toss his cadet hat into the air and become a second lieutenant for the Space Force with the goal of pursuing a doctorate in business.

As the only military member in the family, Tony said entering the academy was a culture shock for his son, and there were times he wanted to leave. He said getting used to the formalities and drills was hard for him, but Tony knew that being at the academy was an amazing opportunity his son would regret missing out on.

“I told him, ‘Son, you’ve got two options — remain at the academy, or remain at the academy. That’s all you’ve got,” he said. “This is a great opportunity. We don’t turn and run. We hunker down, and we keep on forging ahead. And he did.”

From under the waves, a pilot was born

Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Edward Smith traded 100-plus degree San Antonio weather for a sub-50 degree, rainy and hazy morning in Colorado Springs. His son, Wesley Smith, graduated from the Air Force Academy Thursday and hopes to be a pilot and astronaut.

Edward is a submariner and his stark white uniform stood out against the multiple backdrops of blue in Falcon Stadium.

Despite the differing branches, Edward said he has always been fully supportive of helping his son achieve his goal.

“The first thing I felt this morning was pride,” Edward said. “(Wesley) made his decision to be an astronaut in fifth grade, so we sat down and did the math: The Naval Academy has the most astronauts, followed by USAFA and then Purdue… We realized he’d have a better chance of being a pilot in the Air Force and that drove his decision.”

Wesley applied to all three main service academies and got into all three. But he wants to fly F-35s, known as the most advanced fighter jet in the world, and has dreams to be a test pilot in the near future.

“He’s following in the steps of former astronauts,” his dad said.

Fortunately, Wesley’s future station is Del Rio, Texas, close enough to home that he can visit as he progresses through a roughly two-year training regimen.

Wesley is now a second-generation military member, with his dad being the first. Edward was joined at the graduation by his second son Preston Smith, his brother Steve Smith and their cousin Jen Szabo.

Resilience

Tyme Collins’ family made the trip from Maryland to watch him become the first member of their family to graduate from a service academy. After graduation, he will work in cybersecurity for the Air Force. Sports fans may recognize his name as well: He played football for the Falcons throughout his four years as a cadet.

“I’m extremely proud of my son, I love him so much and I can’t stop crying from being overwhelmed,” Debborah Collins, Tyme’s mother, said. “He showed a great amount of resilience dealing with COVID but then also moving from high school athletics to a Division I school with the curriculum here.”

Her joy was overwhelming and she joked that she’d gladly give the entire speech at the graduation. The pride and excitement rubbed off on every member of her family though they were more muted in their expression of it.

Still, it was palpable.

Indonesia, U.S. partnership

Tri Nugroho came from Jakarta to attend the Air Force Academy. He will commission into the Indonesian Air Force and hopes to fly F-16s.

“This was such an amazing experience and I’ve made some of the best memories of my life here,” Nugroho said. “I definitely see a positive future between Indonesia and the United States, I think my country is moving in the right direction.”

During graduation, he waved an Indonesian flag during the early stages of the ceremony as each graduating nation was called out, netting cheers from the audience. Nugroho was joined by a group of 14 international cadets from Guyana, Kosovo, Malaysia, Niger, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia.

He attended all four years at the academy as part of the Four-Year International Cadet Program. . The academy said 25 cadets took part in the program.

NATO’s future at USAFA

Andrei Cojocaru calls a small town outside of Bucharest, Romania, home. He came to the Air Force Academy for all four years of his college career. Now that he’s graduated, draped with the Romanian flag as cadets rush around and congratulate one another, he’s not 100% sure what his future career back home holds.

Regardless, Cojocaru said he is “feeling great.”

“I can’t wait to go back (to Romania) and fly or do whatever else is needed of me,” he said. “For me, basic training was the most interesting experience. I couldn’t speak much English when I first came here so when I had people yelling at me, I could hear what they said, but couldn’t understand the words.”

Romania does not border Russia, but the threat posed by the nation is real for Romania as they do share a long border with Ukraine. Looking to the future, Cojocaru said the country will be keeping their attention on helping NATO and their allies as much as possible. Romania joined NATO in 2004 and was previously occupied by the Soviet Union.

Best friends pursue intelligence careers

Sophia Stewart and Taylor Dunn met each other during basic training at the academy. The two were assigned to each other and became best friends through their “shared sense of awkward” humor.

“This is the best moment of my life,” said Dunn, a native from Richard, Va.

The recent graduates have plans to go into Air Force intelligence together, a dream both of them have had for years.

“None of this feels real, especially since I’m sharing this moment with my best friend,” Stewart said.

St. Patrick’s Day takes on more meaning

They came from Oklahoma, Florida and Virginia for one reason: To see Teagan Lee Renn graduate from the Air Force Academy. The group of roughly eight people wore shirts with Teagan’s face on the back in honor of their graduate.

He did not come from a military family and his mother, Doreen Renn said she and her son experienced a steep learning curve as he adjusted to a future life as an officer .

“He got homesick at times, but he would never have left the friends he made here… He kept at it for all four years,” Doreen Renn said. “We wanted to support anything he wanted to do… He got his acceptance (to the academy) on St. Patrick’s Day, so we celebrate that a little more now.”