Blue Kearney, Zach Perkins Commissioned as Air Force Officers

May 29, 2015

AUSTIN, Texas - The final two members of the Air Force track and field team's Class of 2015 were commissioned as U.S. Air Force second lieutenants this afternoon (May 29), during a special graduation ceremony at The Capital Grille in Austin, Texas. Blue Kearney and Zach Perkins, who competed in the opening round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships yesterday during the Academy's graduation ceremony, officially joined the ranks of Academy graduates.

The commissioning and graduation ceremony was conducted by Col Marty France, the head of the Academy's astronautical engineering department and the officer representative for the track and field team. Family and friends for both graduates, as well as members of the Falcons' track and field staff, were on hand for the special ceremony for two final members of the Academy's Class of 2015.

France presented both graduates with their diplomas, before Kearney was sworn in by his father, U.S. Army Lt Col (ret) Karl Kearney, and received his lieutenant bars from his mother, Jackie, and Air Force head track and field coach Ralph Lindeman. Perkins was commissioned by his grandfather, U.S. Army Col (ret) Randall Perkins Jr., and received his lieutenant bars from his mother, Alyssa, and his grandmother, Maida.

Blue Kearney

Kearney, the Academy's all-time record holder in the outdoor long jump (24'7¾"), will head to Laughlin AFB, Texas, for undergraduate pilot training. Perkins, who holds the Academy at 1500 meters (3:41.46), was recently named the winner of the Air Force athletic department's Athletic Excellence award. Assigned as an acquisitions officer, Perkins is scheduled to begin his career with a Space OpEx at Hanscom AFB, Mass., although hs is currently a candidate to join the Air Force World Class Athlete Program (WCAP).

With the commissioning of Kearney and Perkins this afternoon, the Falcons' track and field program graduated 19 athletes and two managers into the Academy's Class of 2015.