Kentucky graduates OCS Class 58-16

By Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs [caption id="attachment_27627" align="aligncenter" width="577"] The graduates of Kentucky's Officer Candidate School Class 58-16 following their commissioning ceremony in Frankfort, Ky., Sept. 25, 2016. Eleven candidates commissioned as second lieutenants while two were pinned as warrant officers. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond) FRANKFORT, Ky. -- In a time-honored tradition in the commonwealth, 13 Citizen-Soldiers become commissioned officers on the steps of the Capitol in Frankfort, Sept. 25. Hundreds of family members, friends and fellow Guardsmen packed the gardens beneath the Capitol on the warm and sunny autumn day for the annual commissioning ceremony. Maj. Gen. Stephen Hogan presided over the event with Col. Hal Lamberton administering the oath to the new officers. “This ceremony and atmosphere is so fitting as a culmination of the hard work these candidates have put forth,” said Maj. Corey Flannery, commander of Kentucky’s Officer Candidate School. “The events of this weekend and this ceremony here will remind them of their new responsibilities as leaders in the Kentucky National Guard for years to come.”

Click here for more photos.

Eleven of the Soldiers commissioned as second lieutenants, while two become the newest warrant officers for the Kentucky Guard. Following their swearing in, each candidate was pinned by family members or friends and received their first salute from a non-commissioned officer. 2^nd Lt. Cody Stagner was pinned by his son Ayden and received his first salute from his cousin, Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Stagner. “This has been an emotional roller-coaster the last 18 months,” said Stagner. “But being here today and seeing my son in the crowd put my nerves in check to get through the day and realize what I have accomplished.” Stagner was also named the distinguished honor graduate of the class and said the decision to become an officer, after ten years as an enlisted Soldier was a matter of natural progression for him. “Today is the final day of a long journey filled with pain, hard work, sacrifice and love,” he said. “But it’s now the first day of the rest of my career.”

---

The graduating class:

Second Lieutenants:

B Kirtley Amos, Lexington, Ky. - 2123^rd Transportation Company

Reed Michael Bagley, Lexington, Ky. - 617^th Military Police Company

Corey Alan Blankenship, London, Ky. - Bravo Company, 1/149^th Infantry

Markus Christopher Broussard, Fairfield, Calif. - 2138^th Forward Support Company

Johannes Sebastian Chandler, Radcliff, Ky. - 149^th Distro Company

Derek Kenneth Cundiff, Olive Hill, Ky. -2 061^st Multi-Role Bridge Company

Marty Dye, Wayland, Ky. - Charlie Company, 1/376^th Aviation

Bryan Lee Fuller, Lewisburg, Ky. - 138^th Field Artillery Brigade

Sean Michael Lough, Vernon, Texas, - 63^rd Theater Aviation Brigade

Jacob R. McIntosh, Central City, Ky. - 138^th Field Artillery Brigade

Cody Jonathon Stagner, Springfield, Ky. - 1/149^th Infantry

Warrant Officers

Nicholas Scott Anglin, Frankfort, Ky. - 103^rd Brigade Support Battalion

Jarrod Anthony Freitas, Nicholasville, Ky. - Bravo Company, 147^th Aviation