Armed Services Graduates

Airman 1st Class Bryan A. Reeves

Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Bryan A. Reeves has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations. In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

He is the son of Felicita Reeves of Rinaldi Blvd., Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The airman is a 2005 graduate of Poughkeepsie High School.

Adelyn Y. Diazdela Rocha

Adelyn Y. Diazdela Rocha attended the Air Force Junior ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) Aerospace and Technology Honors Camp at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, Ga. The Air Force has nine other approved Aerospace and Technology Honors Camp sites for the high school cadets attending in 2006. Cadets attending the camps are in the top one percent of 110,000 Junior ROTC cadets worldwide; only 500 cadets were selected and actually attended the honors camps. Selection of students/cadets to attend the honors camp is very competitive. They must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0, be rising sophomores, juniors or seniors enrolled in college-prep mathematics and science courses, have leadership ability, demonstrated an interest in pursuing technical and aerospace-related careers, and be U.S. citizens. The Air Force Junior ROTC Honors Camp program has two primary goals: expose high achieving cadets to aerospace and high technology opportunities and careers, and to leverage junior ROTC demographics to reach college-bound minorities at a younger age. The honors camps’ five-day hands-on curricula allows cadets to visit college campuses, air and space operational bases and sites, research labs, historical sites, museums, aerospace industries, hear lectures from pilots and astronauts, and participate in flight simulator training and airplane rides with licensed pilots. She is the granddaughter of Adelina and Carmelo Matos of Fullerton Ave., Newburgh, N.Y. Diazdela Rocha is a student at Newburgh Free Academy.

Staff Sgt. Richard M. Casey

Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Richard M. Casey has been mobilized and activated for a future deployment to an undisclosed overseas location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the official name given to military operations involving members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces participating in efforts to free and secure Iraq. Mission objectives focus on force protection, peacekeeping, stabilization, security and counter-insurgency operations as the Iraqi transitional governing bodies assume full sovereign powers to govern the peoples of Iraq. Members from all branches of the U.S. military and multinational forces are also assisting in rebuilding Iraq’s economic and governmental infrastructure, and training and preparing Iraqi military and security forces to assume full authority and responsibility in defending and preserving Iraq’s sovereignty and independence as a democracy. The sergeant is a military police member regularly assigned to the 727th Military Police Detachment, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He is the son of James L. and Shirley K. Casey of Vails Gate Heights Drive, New Windsor, N.Y. Casey is a 1980 graduate of the S.S. Seward Institute, Florida, N.Y. Return to top of page

Airman Peter A. Gropp

Air Force Airman Peter A. Gropp has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations.

In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

He is the son of Paul Gropp of Kerr Road, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.