# @af_academy on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DV01hSsjg9s
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/59573576-af-academy-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/cd3101c308.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-13T13:02:09.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** U.S. Air Force Academy (@af_academy) — https://gondola.cc/af_academy

## Caption

📣 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐂𝟏𝐂 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐜𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝 ⚔️
 
Meet C1C Lee McDonald from Kerrville, Texas! 🤠
 
An Aeronautical Engineering major with a minor in Chinese, Lee chose #USAFA because of its mission to develop #LeadersOfCharacterAndQuality and his belief that there is no better place to prepare for a lifetime of service. 🫡
 
His father served as a flight surgeon supporting F-16 operations, his grandfather served as a member of the marines in World War II and his cousin, Capt. Falon Little, is a Class of 2018 grad. 🇺🇸
 
Lee is pursuing a career as a usairforce pilot and will attend pilot training after graduation. ✈️
 
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲:
✈️ 𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐀 𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦. Competes in a nationally competitive environment that combines highly technical skills with teamwork
🎖️ 𝐂𝐒-𝟏𝟕 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. Led and developed cadets while learning how to care deeply for his people and his unit
📋 𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫. Helped maintain high performance standards while strengthening teamwork and readiness
 
He says the Academy prepared him for the challenges of leading in today’s Air Force by giving him opportunities to succeed, fail and learn through leadership experiences and conversations with classmates, officers and NCOs.
 
“𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲.”
 
Drop a 👏 to cheer Lee on!
 
#FirstieFriday #WarfightersToWin #CriticalThinkersToAdapt #NoQuitAllGrit #USAFA2026

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 2,105
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 45

## Tags

usafa2026, firstiefriday, criticalthinkerstoadapt, warfighterstowin, usafa, noquitallgrit, leadersofcharacterandquality

---
Copyright (c) Gondola