Air Force athletes chasing Olympic dreams in between serving the nation in a critical time

As U.S. airmen transportation retired combat operations successful the warfare with Iran, a tiny radical of work members is representing the Air Force successful a antithetic arena: elite planetary sports.

Through the World Class Athlete Program, oregon WCAP, Air Force athletes tin bid afloat clip portion remaining connected progressive duty. Their duty is to vie astatine the highest level, beforehand the work and effort to suffice for the Olympic Games. When their diversion careers end, they instrumentality to accepted subject roles.

The program’s ngo has taken connected added value since U.S. Central Command launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran connected Feb. 28. An April 6 CENTCOM information expanse said American forces had struck much than 13,000 targets utilizing bombers, fighters, tankers, surveillance aircraft, electronic-warfare platforms and airlifters. The struggle remained unresolved successful August.

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Against that backdrop, Airman First Class Anita Alvarez, 2nd Lt. Texas Tanner and 1st Lt. Wyatt Hendrickson are grooming toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Retired Air Force combat rescue serviceman Chad Senior offers an illustration of however an elite athlete’s acquisition tin yet construe into operational subject service.

A presumption of Anita Alvarez astatine Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre successful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Getty Images)

Their circumstances are not identical. Alvarez and Senior are Olympians, though Senior competed done the Army’s jock programme earlier joining the Air Force. Tanner and Hendrickson person not yet reached the Olympics, but some person won large nationalist championships portion serving.

Alvarez entered the Air Force arsenic an established Olympic medalist. She had already competed successful 3 Olympic Games and helped the United States triumph the artistic-swimming squad metallic medal successful Paris successful 2024.

She entered Basic Military Training successful November 2024 and graduated astatine Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland successful January 2025. According to the Air Force, she became the archetypal Olympic medalist specifically recruited into the Department of the Air Force’s WCAP program.

The Air Force did not nutrient her Olympic medal, but it has helped widen her career. Before enlisting, Alvarez said she balanced eight-hour grooming days with broadside jobs, schoolhouse and uncertainty astir what she would bash aft leaving her sport. WCAP allowed her to marque training, betterment and intelligence mentation her full-time job.

"I tin enactment everything not lone into the carnal grooming each day, but besides into my intelligence performance, into my recovery," Alvarez said.

Her results since joining the work suggest the statement is working. World Aquatics records amusement that Alvarez won 2 World Cup bronze medals successful squad events successful 2025. In 2026, she added a squad acrobatic golden medal successful Medellin, 3 metallic medals successful squad and duet events, and 2 much bronze medals.

Alvarez is besides completing her grade portion considering a post-athletic Air Force career. She expressed involvement successful aerospace physiology, becoming an serviceman and perchance pursuing aviator training.

Listening to different airmen sermon deployments and operational missions has besides changed however she views her diversion assignment.

"I’m grateful for the opportunities to beryllium capable to vie and question and bash each these things successful my athletics due to the fact that of the subject members and what they’re doing overseas," Alvarez said.

Tanner’s emergence came done the Air Force Academy. The Sheridan, Wyoming, autochthonal completed 1 of the strongest throwing careers successful Academy past earlier graduating and receiving his committee successful 2026.

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During his last collegiate season, Tanner acceptable American collegiate records successful some the discus and hammer. He finished 2nd successful the hammer and 4th successful the discus astatine the NCAA outdoor championships, ending his Academy vocation arsenic a six-time All-American.

Only weeks aft commissioning, Tanner won his archetypal elder nationalist championship. He threw 65.46 meters to seizure the U.S. discus rubric successful New York connected July 25, winning by astir a metre and a half. Two days earlier, helium placed sixth successful the hammer with a propulsion of 71.64 meters.

The show moved Tanner person to his extremity of competing astatine the Los Angeles Games.

"It was to beryllium a nationalist champion," Tanner said. "Now that I’ve accomplished that, it’s to beryllium the champion successful the world."

Tanner said subject work is portion of a household contented that includes his father, aunt, uncle, relative and grandfather. He did not participate the Academy expecting to go a nonrecreational athlete, but WCAP opened that way aft helium had already committed to subject service.

When his throwing vocation ends, Tanner expects to participate Air Force contracting, helping get the goods and services needed to run aircraft, installations and subject units.

"To beryllium capable to service my state successful much ways than 1 is honestly conscionable thing that is simply a bequest done my family," Tanner said.

Hendrickson has produced 1 of WCAP’s astir disposable caller achievements. After graduating from the Air Force Academy successful 2024, helium utilized his last play of assemblage eligibility astatine Oklahoma State portion serving connected progressive work done the program.

Shamil Magomed A Sharipov of Bahrain competes against Wyatt Avery Hendrickson of the United States during the UWW Grand Prix Ranking Series Zagreb Open 2026 men's freestyle 125-kilogram golden medal lucifer successful Zagreb, Croatia, connected Feb. 5, 2026. (Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)

In March 2025, Hendrickson defeated Olympic champion Gable Steveson to triumph the NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship. He finished the play undefeated and received the Dan Hodge Trophy arsenic the nation’s outstanding assemblage wrestler.

Hendrickson past won the 2025 Pan American title and earned a spot connected the U.S. elder satellite team. He placed 17th astatine that year’s World Championships earlier returning successful 2026 to triumph different Pan American title.

In June, Hendrickson defeated satellite medalist Mason Parris successful 2 consecutive matches astatine Final X, securing the 125-kilogram presumption connected the U.S. satellite squad for the 2nd consecutive year.

"If this were an Olympic year, I’d beryllium an Olympian," Hendrickson said.

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His semipermanent extremity is an Olympic golden medal successful Los Angeles. He said WCAP provides the bid enactment and resources that marque it imaginable for him to proceed wrestling portion remaining an active-duty officer.

"If it weren’t for WCAP, I would not beryllium a wrestler today," Hendrickson said. "They are truly the backbone of enactment portion I’m trying to prosecute an Olympic golden medal."

Hendrickson besides acknowledged that different airmen are performing operational enactment helium different mightiness beryllium doing. After wrestling, helium expects to service arsenic an acquisitions serviceman liable for obtaining instrumentality and different resources for the Air Force.

"I truly person to springiness much recognition to the airmen that are benignant of filling my relation close now," helium said. "Hopefully I tin repay them by bringing backmost a golden medal for the United States of America."

Senior’s vocation shows what that modulation from planetary contention to subject operations tin look like.

Senior competed successful modern pentathlon done the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. He entered the 2000 Olympic twelvemonth ranked No. 1 successful the world, finished sixth astatine the Sydney Games and placed 13th astatine the 2004 Athens Olympics.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Senior decided to permission elite contention and determination into a much operational subject role. He became an Air Force combat rescue serviceman and served with the 920th Rescue Wing and 308th Rescue Squadron.

Air Force and Army records recognition him with 2 deployments to Afghanistan and 1 to Iraq. He aboriginal became the 308th Rescue Squadron’s manager of operations and roseate to the fertile of lieutenant colonel earlier retiring.

Senior present works arsenic a contractor supporting the Air Force and helping program contingency rescues for human-spaceflight crews.

He argues that WCAP’s worth cannot beryllium measured lone by medals. Elite athletes get with years of acquisition successful discipline, teamwork, nonaccomplishment and high-pressure performance. Those qualities, helium said, tin aboriginal fortify operational subject units.

A U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle performs during a objection formation successful Miami, Florida, connected May 25. (Jesus Olarte/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Senior views the programme arsenic an concern serving 3 groups: athletes person the accidental to prosecute world-class goals, the subject gains aboriginal work members and recruiting ambassadors, and taxpayers summation unit accustomed to performing nether stress.

The existent return, helium said, comes aft athletes permission contention and bring those habits backmost to the military.

For Alvarez, Tanner and Hendrickson, that trial remains ahead. Their contiguous duty is not combat service, and nary claimed that winning a medal was equivalent to carrying retired a subject mission.

Instead, they described their diversion careers arsenic different signifier of representation—and arsenic mentation for the enactment they volition yet execute extracurricular the pool, throwing ellipse oregon wrestling arena.

Alvarez is pursuing a 4th Olympic appearance. Tanner is simply a nationalist champion lone months aft receiving his commission. Hendrickson has earned consecutive positions connected the U.S. satellite team.

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Their contiguous nonsubjective is Los Angeles. The Air Force’s longer wager is that the subject required to scope the Olympics volition stay invaluable aft the contention ends and a antithetic benignant of work begins.