Military Briefs
By Staff
June 14, 2002
Air Force Cadet Adam K. Roberts has graduated for the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., with a bachelor's degree in biology and a commission as a second lieutenant.
Senior cadets have the opportunity to serve as academy cadet officers, providing leadership, motivation and direction for the cadet wing and demonstrating support of unit mission objectives.
The U.S. Air Force Academy is a four-year military institution of higher learning that develops and inspires new air and space leaders with a vision for the future.
The curriculum provides a balanced program of military training, academics, physical training, athletic conditioning and character and ethical development. Courses let cadets acquire a broad education in basic and engineering sciences, social sciences, humanities and 30 academic majors.
The new lieutenants serve as pilots, navigators, engineers, maintenance officers and professionals in various technical fields. Some attend medical or graduate school with special scholarships, while others go directly to non-rated Air Force-wide assignments.
Roberts has been selected to attend the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program conducted by the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas.
Only the top 30 pilot candidates of each graduating class get to attend the 55-week training program sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Roberts is the son of Belinda Gwinn of Meridian and Toney Roberts of Batesville. He is a 1998 graduate of Southeast Lauderdale High School.
Navy Lt. j.g. Wes W. Hamill, son of Kay W. and William E. Hamill of Philadelphia, is halfway through a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf while assigned to the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance, based in Mayport, Fla.
Hamill is one of more than 10,000 Atlantic Fleet sailors and Marines aboard the ships of the USS John F. Kennedy Carrier Battle Group and USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group.
Hamill's ship is one of the most powerful warships ever put to sea. The computer-based AEGIS weapons system is the heart of the ship's war-fighting capability. It centers around a powerful radar that enables the crew to detect, track and fire on more than 100 targets at a time.
Hamill is the grandson of George and Jean Williams, also of Philadelphia. He is a 1995 graduate of Philadelphia High School and joined the Navy in May 1999. He is a 1999 graduate of Tulane University.
