Bush, Thunderbirds, drizzle greet new Air Force graduates

The biggest applause of the three-hour Air Force Academy graduation Wednesday may have been when the sun made a brief appearance over Falcon Stadium.

Nearly 900 cadets had crossed the stage before the fog and drizzle gave way to the first beams of sunlight peeking through the clouds. It also gave a glimmer of hope that the Air Force Thunderbirds would make their annual appearance.

The crowd erupted as the graduation's keynote speaker, President Bush, ceremoniously doffed his overcoat.

"That was amazing," said newly minted 2nd Lt. Charles Riordan as he celebrated the end to his four years at the academy.

The Thunderbirds were able to make a single pass over the stadium, roaring in below the clouds as cadets tossed their hats to mark the end of the soggiest graduation since 1992.

The weather was bad enough that the precision flying team had to cancel its traditional aerobatic routine. But the drizzle didn't dampen the mood of cadets, or the commander in chief.

"I'm just ecstatic," said 2nd Lt. Derek Haun a few minutes after graduation. "It was everything I imagined and more."

Bush mugged with cadets and hugged 225 from the class of 1,012. He even took a call when a cadet handed him a cell phone. While most commencement speakers shake hands with about 100 cadets before taking a seat, Bush, as he did in 2004, endured the drizzle to greet all of them. Bush helped 280 cadets wave to family and friends in the crowd, gave a dozen high-fives and eight fist knocks and even kissed half a dozen cadets, all women.

One enthusiastic cadet even got Bush to mimic "doing the robot."

2nd Lt. Devin Hart said the president asked "What's that?" when he asked the leader of the Free World to bust the move. But a smiling Bush followed along with the Widefield High School graduate.

Bush's speech, centered on stiffening U.S. support for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, drew less crowd reaction than the dancing.

Most of the 20,000 in Falcon Stadium were on the same political page as Bush, a two-term Republican, whose address at the academy was his last as president for a service academy commencement.

"The big thing for me is we're making sacrifices as a country to win the war on terrorism," said Scott Myers, a Colorado Springs resident who went to the ceremony to hear Bush. "People have to think about it as a long-term commitment."

A few in the crowd disagreed.

"I think it's a great philosophy, but I don't know if we can sustain it economically," said David Patierno, 22, who traveled from California to watch a friend graduate. "If we had infinite resources, maybe it would be a worthy goal. But we don't."

For most of the crowd, though, cadets, not politics, were the focus.

The class of 2008 is the largest to graduate from the academy since 1994. And its 1,012 members are some of the smartest in academy history.

Brig. Gen. Dana Born said the class finished its four years with a 3.14 grade point average.

For cadets who endured the academy's legendary rigors, Wednesday was the payoff for four hard years.

"It's an incredible experience," said 2nd Lt. Julie Roloson.

BY THE NUMBERS
1,012
cadets graduated Wednesday.
530
of the graduates are bound for pilot training.
225
cadets hugged President Bush after getting their diplomas.
88
graduates are headed for graduate schools.
54
cadets had one or more siblings also graduate from the academy.
3.14
was the average grade point average for the graduates.
2
cadets got Bush's autograph.