Rep. Poliquin nominates 14 to join military academies

Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District, has nominated 14 students from his congressional district to attend some of the nation’s prestigious military service academies in 2018. The nominees include: Tristan Cosby of Houlton to the Naval, Military and Air Force academies; Cody Craig of Skowhegan to the Merchant Marine Academy; Elizabeth Diaz of Jay to the Merchant Marine Academy; Haley Donovan of Crawford to the Air Force Academy; Elinor Haldane of Blue Hill to the Military and Air Force academies; Chase Harkins of Bethel to the Military Academy; Alexander Howell of Islesboro to the Naval Academy; Alexander Inman of Eddington to the Military, Air Force and Naval academies; Anthony Mason of Beaver Cove to the Naval Academy; Maria Maxsimic of Holden to the Naval and Air Force academies; Emily Mikoud of Dover-Foxcroft to the Military Academy; Emily Mousseau of Lewiston to the Naval Academy; Connor Roy of Hampden to the Naval, Military and Air Force academies; and Anna Sewall of East Millinocket to the Naval Academy.

Poliquin’s Service Academy Nomination Advisory Board informed his recommendations after interviewing applicants in Bangor in December. The board includes military, community and educational leaders with a combined 200 years of service in the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy.

Applicants must be nominated by a member of Congress or another authorized party.

The application period for 2nd District students seeking nomination to a military service academy from Poliquin for next year will open in May.

They may contact his offices in Lewiston at 784-0768, Bangor 942-0583 or Caribou 492-1600 or visit poliquin.house.gov.

Two complete eight-week basic training program

• Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Hayley A. Clavette has graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio, Texas, following an intensive eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

A 2011 graduate of Wisdom Middle/High School in St. Agatha and a 2015 graduate of the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus, Clavette is the daughter of Norman and Michele Cyr of Frenchville.

• Air Force Airman Nathaniel T. Stoddard has completed basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in San Antonio, Texas, following an intensive eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness and basic warfare principles and skills.

A 2017 graduate of Houlton High School, Stoddard is the son of Andrew and Dolores Stoddard of Gorham, and the husband of Kennedy Stoddard.

Air Force lieutenant finishes 54 weeks of pilot training

Air Force 2nd Lt. Andrew Hewins has completed specialized undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma.

The 54-week pilot training program began with a six-week preflight phase of academics and physical training to prepare Hewins for flight. The second phase, primary training, was conducted in a single-engine, turboprop T-6A Texan II. Primary training lasts about 23 weeks and includes 254 hours of ground instruction, 27 hours in a flight simulator and 89 hours in the T-6A aircraft.

After primary training, students pursue advanced training in either the fighter-bomber or airlift-tanker track. Training for the fighter track is done in a T-38C Talon, a tandem-seat, twin-engine supersonic jet. The airlift-tanker track uses a T-1A Jayhawk, the military version of a multiplace Beech Jet 400 business jet.

Both track programs last about 26 weeks and train pilots for a successful transition to their aircraft and missions.

Hewins is the son of Greg and Kathy Hewins of Vero Beach, Florida, and grandson of Fran Pratt of Livermore Falls.

He is a 2006 graduate of Vero Beach High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2011 from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.