The Air Force JROTC unit AL-935 out of Daphne High School held its first official winging ceremony for their newest cadet private pilots on July 25 in Trojan Hall.

Presiding over the ceremony was Lt. Col. Matthew Tipton, the director of Air Force JROTC out of Maxell Air Force Base, Montgomery.

A winging ceremony is a tradition in the armed forces, where, after completing and passing all aviation requirements and training, aviators are awarded their wings.

The recipients who earned their wings are Cadet Lt. Col. Landon Ward, who attended flight training at Delta State University in Mississippi; Cadet Major Grace Godwin, who went to Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas; and Cadet 2 Lt. Arthur Zamprogno, who completed his training at Purdue University in Indiana. All three cadets received AF JROTC scholarships to attend this summer training.

"This is the first official AL-935 winging ceremony, and it is with distinct honor to formally recognize their achievement," said (Ret.) Lt. Col. Douglas Goodlin, the AL-935 senior aerospace science instructor at Daphne High School.

Goodlin, in his 15th year of teaching JROTC at Daphne, teaches an Aviation Honors Ground School class. All three students took this class last school year and passed the FAA ground school exam prior to going to the flight training this summer.

"I am so proud of these cadet's accomplishments and their extremely hard work to get to this point in their lives of being a private pilot while still in high school," he said.

All three are seniors this year, with Ward and Zamprogno attending Spanish Fort High School and Godwin at Daphne High School. Ward will also be the AL-935 Corps commander this fall while Godwin is the deputy Corps commander of the unit.

The Air Force JROTC program at Daphne High School brings students from both Spanish Fort and Daphne to learn about the military.

"Our goal is to make better citizens for America," Goodlin said.

The unit has produced four cadets who have earned their private pilot certificate through this program. They also have another current student, Cadet CMSgt. Samuel McFall, who also has earned his private pilot certificate.

These three cadets will be able to continue keeping their skills up to date by flying with the local Civil Air Patrol monthly throughout their senior year in high school.