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USAF pilot

Fighting COVID among his AFA training challenges, FHS grad Lyons tells his story

June 26, 2024 by Rosaria Carlson, Corresonpdent

On May 30, 2020, Farragut High School graduate Anthony Lyons graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. His story, as with many 2020 high school graduates, is one of perseverance and adaptability in a time when everything was uncertain.

Four years ago, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Farragut High School sent home its students — some of them, Lyons included, for the very last time.

“At first we were pretty excited,” Lyons recalled, “until they told us we wouldn’t be finishing our senior year.”

It was a confusing time then; students didn’t know if they would see their classmates again or if they would even get to have a graduation. Luckily, the school managed to pull through for them with a socially distanced graduation ceremony, though Lyons laments missing whatever senior pranks his peers may have planned.

Things continued to be strange as Lyons and the rest of his U.S. Air Force Academy classmates reported for basic training in June.

Lyons recalls the COVID-19 response was very different in Colorado than it was in Tennessee. Regulations were not enforced as heavily as they were in Colorado, where a quarantine zone was in effect, as well as mandated masks and social distancing. When asked how these regulations affected his classes and training, Lyons explained they were expected to keep on their masks at all times during PT, resulting in strange mask tan lines and sweat build-up in the masks due to the summer heat.

“It was like being waterboarded with sweat,” Lyons recalled with good humor.

Classes during his first year at the Academy were conducted online, on par with most college campuses across the nation at that time. When asked about his experience with online learning, Lyons said it definitely was an adjustment period for everyone, including the professors.

Most of the professors at the time were “seasoned teachers” who were used to doing things in person and struggled to learn the online platforms and how they worked.

From a student’s perspective, those classes felt less effective than the in-person classes he was used to, citing too many distractions and “it was too easy to fall asleep.” Although online classes since have become much more effective as teachers and professors have had a chance to adapt to the changing climate, in the early days of the pandemic it was understandably difficult for everyone involved.

Lyons also explained he saw less of his classmates his freshman year because of the quarantine order.

“I tried to really make up for that the last three years, trying to make as many friends as possible. I think many people felt the same way,” he said.

Luckily, this year the Academy implemented an online portal to help AFA alumni keep in touch and remain more connected.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Lyons said he accomplished all of the big things he wanted to do while at the Academy, citing the Soaring program (learning to fly a glider), the Powered Flight program (learning to fly a powered plane, and the Jump program (jumping out of a plane).

Of these, Lyons heaps the most praise upon the Jump program, which he feels is a program everyone who goes through the Academy should experience.

“It is absolutely life-changing, just falling through the sky and seeing the earth come at you,” Lyons recalled. “It’s very peaceful, actually.”

For anyone wishing to experience the sensation of free falling through the sky without attending the Air Force Academy or jumping from an actual plane, Lyons notes that it feels exactly the same as indoor skydiving, which was part of his training for the Jump program.

Following his graduation, Lyons is stationed in Colorado Springs at AFA, working with security forces for the next year, after which he will attend undergraduate pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi in pursuit of becoming a pilot.

From there, the next 12 years of his life are planned: he’ll be a pilot in the Air Force.

“I can decide after that if I want to stay in or become a pilot somewhere else,” Lyons explained.

When asked how he feels about knowing where the next 12 to 15 years of his life are going, “I like it. I like the structure and predictability,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about what I’m going to do.

“In my family, I’ve always been good at doing what I’m told, so I guess that’s how I figured I’d be a good fit for the military,” Lyons added.

Having completed the program and begun his life after graduation, Lyons has a few words to offer students who might be considering following the same path:

“If you are looking for a solid, structured, and predictable career path, I think the AF is a great path,” he said. “If you’re looking for a well-balanced opportunity for education and keeping career paths open, service academies in general, and definitely the Air Force Academy, are great places to do that.

“AFA is the best place to go if you want to be a pilot.”