AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Vice President Mike Pence will fly to Colorado Springs Saturday to deliver his commencement speech to the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2020, after all.
Pence was set to deliver the commencement speech via a video message to graduating cadets, but in a statement Tuesday evening, the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) said the vice president would instead deliver his remarks in person.
It’s unclear why the change was made, but Denver7 has reached out to the U.S. Air Force Academy for an explanation.
The graduation will be held on the USAFA campus Terrazzo at 11 a.m., and the ceremony is expected to last approximately 30 minutes.
The ceremony will not be open to the public but graduating cadets will be in attendance – strictly adhering to social distancing guidelines during the ceremony by marching six feet apart and sitting eight feet apart during the event, the USAFA said in statement Friday.
The Air Force Thunderbirds will conduct a flyover of the ceremony but will not perform their traditional aerobatics demonstration at the conclusion of the ceremony, USAFA officials said. They will also fly in a Super Delta formation, which is an eight-ship configuration, instead or their normal Delta formation, a six-ship formation.
No other details about the vice president's visit were immediately available.