Under partially cloudy skies at Falcon Stadium, President Joe Biden on Thursday highlighted various world threats from the conflict in Ukraine to increasingly damaging natural disasters that 921 Air Force Academy graduates will face as future military leaders.

Biden noted the world “genuinely needs” them at this inflection point in history and despite all the challenges, he has never been more optimistic, in part, because of the graduates. 

NEWS | 2023 U.S. Air Force Academy Graduation

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“I know you are going to meet the moment,” he said during a packed graduation ceremony.  

Biden handed out diplomas to the more than 900 cadets, chatting with some of them. Biden told Fredericka Chaires  to remember him in this moment when she becomes a general, Chaires said. 

At the end of the ceremony, Biden fell on a black sandbag that was on the stage, said Ben LaBolt White House communications director said Twitter.  

“He’s fine,” Bolt said. 

Biden falls on stage during Air Force Academy graduation, quickly recovers

Gazette reporters heard gasps from the crowd and saw Biden get up, but were not close enough to see the whole scene.  

The fall preceded the traditional hat toss and the eruption of chaotic joy, hugs and selfies across the ballfield as the hard work of four years culminates in a moment marked by the roar of jet engines. 

Rain that sprinkled throughout the ceremony arrived in force at the end of the celebration along with hail. Members of the crowd still seemed ecstatic in their ponchos. 

Celebrating accomplishments

The class of 2023 is the most diverse in history including about 29% female and 30% minority graduates.

A milestone the president underscored, saying, “That’s why we are strong,” to cheers from the crowd. 

The class also achieved academic honors, as well, earning a cumulative GPA of about 3.14 and sending 230 cadets on to earn a graduate degree. The students will complete those degrees before going to their first post as a second lieutenant.

The class excelled after getting sent home in May during their first year of school as a COVID-19 pandemic precaution. The cadets returned to in-person education in the fall.

“You have had to adapt and overcome time and again,” the president said. 

The president made numerous references to other aspects of cadet life, such as winning the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy this year and the feelings cadets may have had on the first day of basic training wondering what they had gotten themselves into.

“It was really awesome that he knew everything about our cadet career,” said Cadet Grace Hess, a native of Abingdon, Va., who is going to work in cyber security. 

Armed with academic prowess, the cadets will also need moral clarity as the country leads not just by power, but the power of our example in tough times, Biden said. 

As Ukrainians have fought to defend their nation, the U.S. rallied 50 countries to support them, noting that other eastern European countries could face a threat from Russia if Ukraine falls. 

“We always stand up for democracies, always,” Biden said, to crowd cheers. 

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In addition to military threats, the world also faces growing food insecurity and worsening natural disasters driven in part by the “existential threat of climate change,” he said.

Technology is also rapidly changing, Biden said, highlighting artificial intelligence. 

“Some are very worried that AI can actually overtake human thinking, so we have a lot to deal with,” he said. 

The weight of the responsibilities the cadets will undertake was pointed out by other leaders, including Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who noted they are being entrusted with national security, safety and freedom as strategic competition from China and Russia is as great as it has been in decades. 

“The resources will always be limited and the responsibilities will always be vast,” he said. 

Amid those challenges they must shape the culture they work in by the standard of the conduct they accept, Kendall said. 

That culture must be united, he said, amid severe political polarization representing one of the greatest challenges the country faces. 

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