MAY 30, 2025 – Approximately 900 cadets, along with their friends and loved ones, listened as Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink addressed the Class of 2025 during the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium, May 29.
In his first public speech as the 27th Secretary of the Air Force, Meink reflected on the cadets’ time at the Academy, describing the storm that welcomed them in June of 2021 and praising them for completing four years of rigorous military training, athletic programs and education.
“Your journey started with a clap of thunder…in-processing in the middle of a storm on duct tape footsteps underneath Vandenberg tower. You kept going despite all the adversities we could think to throw at you.” he said. “We gave you a motto: never quit, never settle. That’s quite fitting. You haven’t quit—you haven’t settled.”
Meink recalled how the military has changed since his active-duty service almost 30 years ago, but even more importantly, how it’s transformed in the short time since the Class of 2025 arrived at the Academy. He also emphasized the importance of being ready on day one, describing the consistently high readiness the Air Force and Space Force maintain for both homeland defense and power projection.
“This administration has made its national security focus crystal clear. Number one, defend the homeland. Number two, deter China in the Indo-Pacific,” he said. “Class of 2025… The Indo-Pacific will be your generation’s fight, and you will deliver the most lethal force that has ever existed to that fight.”
He addressed the stadium filled with cadets, senior leaders, and Academy faculty and staff, as he highlighted the significance of the nation’s newest military branch to this fight.
“We are treating space like the contested environment that it is by inserting resilience and space superiority into every aspect of our overhead architecture,” Meink said. “We are building the stealthiest and most lethal airborne platforms in history. We are building low-cost drones. And we are building the sensors and battle network to stitch it all together.”
Meink said his expectation of the graduates is to innovate and take initiative, attributing many of the Air Force’s proudest achievements to junior officers. He charged them to never quit and never settle.
“No matter what the conflict of the future looks like, airpower and spacepower will be at its leading edge. And you must be ready for it at all times,” he said. “Congratulations, Class of 2025. Welcome to the Air Force and the Space Force. We are counting on you.”
The ceremony concluded with the Class of 2025 tossing their white caps in the air with excitement. Following the hat toss, children from the audience ran onto the field to collect hats, often pinned with money and notes from the graduates to the children.
By Tech. Sgt. Sahara Fales
U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications