Air Force Academy: Cadets Will Be At Least 6-Feet Apart At Graduation
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (CBS4) – The U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2020 will have an in-person graduation ceremony -- but it will be short and private. Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there will be no family or friends in the audience -- and the cadets will be at least six feet away from each other.
Instead of being held in Falcon Stadium, the ceremony will be held on the USAFA campus Terrazzo at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 18. The ceremony is expected to last approximately 30 minutes.
AFA officials say cadets will be "strictly adhering to social distancing guidelines for the ceremony, marching 6 feet apart and sitting 8 feet apart during the event."
Vice Pres. Mike Pence will give the commencement address via video message. It is unclear whether the address will be live or previously recorded.
The Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration will also look different this year. At the conclusion of the ceremony, they will fly in a Super Delta formation, which is an 8-ship configuration, instead or their normal Delta formation, a 6-ship formation.
The event will be live-streamed on Facebook and on YouTube.