The 
Couvillion family of San Antonio earlier this month celebrated a special day as Amn. Basic Patrick Couvillion graduated from basic military training at JBSA-Lackland, Tex., following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father by donning Air Force blue. Patrick’s grandfather Gaston Couvillion, an airman from 1948 to 1952, delayed an urgent medical procedure so that he could attend the Sept. 7 graduation ceremony, according to an Air Force Personnel Center release. And, Patrick’s father, Col. Jerry Couvillion, AFPC’s director of personnel services, surprised Patrick by serving as the graduation reviewing official. “My dad, and men like him, stood at the beginning of the long blue line. They laid the cornerstone—the very foundation—of the Air Force and their contributions are immeasurable,” said Colonel Couvillion. He added, “Those airmen on the field today are the proud legacy of my dad’s generation, and I am proud to welcome them to the Air Force family and call them airmen.” Patrick will now train to be a remotely piloted aircraft sensor operator, states the release. (Randolph report by Debbie Gildea)
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.