# @af_academy on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DWq5_lJgfyh
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/62647865-af-academy-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c88f6a0ee2.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-04-03T13:00:13.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** U.S. Air Force Academy (@af_academy) — https://gondola.cc/af_academy

## Caption

📣 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐂𝟏𝐂 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 “𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲” 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 ⚔️
 
Meet C1C Madeline “Maddy” Recker, a Behavioral Sciences major with a French minor from Colorado Springs, Colorado! ⛰️
 
Maddy comes from a proud military family. Her parents Lt. Col. (Ret.) Roy Recker and Felicia (Thompson) Recker were Class of 1998 grads. 🎓 Both of her grandfathers served in the usarmy, including one who retired as a CW-2 and served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. 🇺🇸
 
She chose #USAFA after growing up in a fighter pilot community, where she saw firsthand how people took care of each other and knew she wanted to be part of that kind of team. 🤝
 
After graduation, Maddy will attend pilot training and pursue a career as a pilot in the usairforce. ✈️
 
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲:
🪖 𝐁𝐂𝐓 𝐂𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐞, 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐍𝐂𝐎. Led and mentored basics while learning the importance of accountability, consistency and setting the tone through actions
🎖️ 𝐂𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟖 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. Focused on building culture, strengthening accountability and leading
🎶 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐫. Gained perspective on teamwork and the importance of contributing as a follower
 
One of her most rewarding moments was receiving her pilot slot on Job Drop night.
 
“𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”
 
Drop a ✈️ to cheer Maddy on!
 
#FirstieFriday #LeadersOfCharacterAndQuality #WarfightersToWin #CriticalThinkersToAdapt #NoQuitAllGrit #USAFA2026

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 2,936
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- **Comments:** 22

## Tags

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

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