Laughlin Air Force Base honors more than 30 Airmen at CCAF graduation

Laughlin Air Force Base put more than a diploma on the line at Anderson Hall. The 47th Flying Training Wing gathered April 21 to honor more than 30 Airmen from the Community College of the Air Force’s 2024 Fall Class through the 2026 Spring Class, marking the first CCAF graduation hosted on base in three years.

The ceremony carried the formality of a military event and the weight of a career milestone. The 47th Flying Training Honor Guard presented the colors, and Col. Joseph McCane, commander of the 47th Operations Group, served as guest speaker. McCane praised the graduates for balancing national defense duties with the work required to complete a college credential, a reminder that the Airmen who keep Laughlin running are also building qualifications that can move with them through future assignments and into civilian life.

That matters at Laughlin because the base is more than a training site. As one of the Air Force’s premier pilot-training installations, it operates in a high-tempo environment where technical work, shifts and mission demands can make higher education harder to finish. Recognizing a large class in front of wing leadership sends a clear message about what the installation values: professional growth, retention and long-term readiness, not just the day-to-day production of pilots.

The Community College of the Air Force gives that mission a national framework. Part of Air University and regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, CCAF awards associate of applied science degrees built around technical education, leadership, management, military studies, physical education and general education. The college awards about 22,000 degrees a year across 69 programs and serves roughly 270,000 active, guard and reserve enlisted personnel, making Laughlin’s graduation part of a much larger enlisted-education pipeline.

For Del Rio and Val Verde County, the ceremony reached beyond the gate. Laughlin is one of the area’s largest employers and one of its most visible institutions, so milestones like this carry local economic and civic weight. They show a base investing in people whose credentials can strengthen their careers while they serve, and whose experience can later carry into the community.

Laughlin has recognized CCAF graduates before. Anderson Hall hosted a graduation on June 1, 2015, when 25 members received diplomas, and another base education-center ceremony recognized 39 members. The return of the event after a three-year gap restored a longstanding tradition and reinforced Laughlin’s role as both a military training center and a community anchor.