Acting Chief Choi Sang-mok Oversees Commissioning Ceremony... 185 Air Force Second Lieutenants Commissioned

Second Lieutenant Ahn Juseon Receives Presidential Award...
Renounced U.S. Citizenship
Together with His Brother, Captain Ahn Sanggyu, as the "Boramae Brothers"

The Air Force announced that the Korea Air Force Academy held the graduation and commissioning ceremony for the 73rd class of cadets on the 12th at the Seongmu Parade Ground on campus.

The commissioning ceremony was conducted under the supervision of Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister, with approximately 2,000 attendees including graduates' families, relatives, and distinguished guests.

Yonhap News

At the graduation ceremony, 190 cadets who completed three years of education and training graduated, and excluding foreign military cadets (from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Paraguay, and Mongolia), 185 were commissioned as Air Force second lieutenants. They entered in 2021 and completed four years of military training, life education, and degree education, earning a Bachelor of Military Science along with Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Engineering degrees according to their majors.

The event lasted about 60 minutes and proceeded in the order of awarding honors, presenting diplomas, commissioning orders and rank insignia, commissioning oath, meal with the Acting President and the academy president, the presentation ceremony of the ‘1st Class First Sortie Commemorative Taegeukgi,’ cadet march, and congratulatory flight. Lieutenant General Cha Jun-seon, Superintendent of the Korea Air Force Academy, said, “I hope you deeply engrave the Air Force core values of challenge, dedication, expertise, and teamwork in your hearts and embrace greater dreams and visions with the ambition to write a new history for the Air Force.”

In particular, the ceremony included the presentation of the 1st Class First Sortie Commemorative Taegeukgi, symbolizing the graduates’ inheritance of the spirit of patriotic devotion of their predecessors at the academy. The presentation ceremony was inspired by the event during the Korean War when 1st class pilots of the academy, after completing flight training and preparing for their first sortie, were given a Taegeukgi signed with supportive messages by 2nd class juniors wishing them good fortune. This ceremony was first held at the 71st class graduation and this is the third time it has been conducted.

At this event, Lee Gye-hoon, president of the Air Force Veterans Association and a senior of the 23rd class as well as the 31st Chief of Staff of the Air Force (class of 71), draped the Taegeukgi over the shoulders of Second Lieutenant Ahn Ju-seon, the top graduate of the 73rd class, and placed a flower garland on him. Lieutenant Ahn reciprocated by presenting a Taegeukgi-shaped rolling paper inscribed with the graduates’ pledges.

Second Lieutenant An Ju-seon, who received the Presidential Award at the 73rd Air Force Academy Cadet Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony, is posing for a photo. Photo by Air Force

Finally, the ceremony was followed by a split formation march of graduates and cadets and an aerial formation flight by major Air Force aircraft, including the Black Eagles’ congratulatory flight. Aircraft such as the F-35A, F-15K, (K)F-16, FA-50, F-5, and KC-330 participated in the aerial formation flight. Notably, senior pilots who graduated 10, 20, and 30 years earlier?Major Baek Hwa-rang (class of 63, deceased), Lieutenant Colonel Lee Jin-wook (class of 53), and Brigadier General Ryu Ki-pil (class of 43)?flew the KF-16, FA-50, and F-15K fighters respectively, adding special significance to the event.

At this year’s graduation and commissioning ceremony, Second Lieutenant Ahn Ju-seon earned the highest overall score and was honored with the ‘Presidential Award.’ The ‘Prime Minister’s Award’ went to Second Lieutenant Kim Jae-hyung, and the ‘Minister of National Defense Award’ was given to Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-hyun. Notably, Lieutenant Ahn renounced his U.S. citizenship to become an Air Force officer and, together with his older brother Captain Ahn Sang-gyu (fighter pilot), they are known as the ‘Boramae Brothers,’ jointly protecting the nation’s airspace.

Other notable figures include Second Lieutenant Lee Yoon-seo, who, along with her younger sister Cadet Lee Yoon-sung (3rd year), will be responsible for defending the national airspace as the ‘Boramae Sisters’; Second Lieutenant Kim Jung-min, who enrolled in the 71st class, was diagnosed with leukemia, took a leave of absence, overcame the illness, and returned as a member of the 73rd class; and Second Lieutenant Kim Min-woo, who aspires to be an expert in the field of robotic aircraft and drone bots, all of whom have attracted attention.