It was a proud moment for the Air & Space Institute (ASI), Newark and Lincoln College this week as former ASI learner, Pilot Ellie Ford graduated as an officer in the Royal Air Force following her previous success as student of the year on her Level 3 programme at the ASI.
Ellie took part in a Graduation Parade for Modularised Initial Officer Training Course NO 41, Specialist Officer Initial Training Course No 15 and Reserve Officer Initial Training Course No 75 taking place at RAF Cranwell. She becomes the first RAF Offcier to graduate directly following her studies at the ASI.
Pilot Officer Ford will start Phase 2 Training as Air Operations (Surveillance) in June 2026, she says: “It was a really great day and to have my family come and see the parade was lovely and definitely a proud moment.
“It was also a real honour to share the day with my own squadron and to attend the ball in the evening too. It’s the culmination of some hard work, but it seems like the last six months have really flown by.
“I’ll now be working in Ops, which means I’ll be working in surveillance in aspects such as threat analysis and communications between aircraft.
“I was also very pleased to get the Student of the Year award from College, to be the first Officer from the course and to realise my ambitions of joining the RAF has been great.
“The ASI really helped me to find out about the roles that most interested me and then to prepare me to apply and make the move.”
Air Chief Marshall Sir Harv Smyth KCB OBE DFC ADC MA RAF, Chief of Air Staff, who was acting as Reviewing Officer at the ceremony and parade, said: “I was honoured to serve at today’s RAF Officer Graduation at Cranwell, 35 years after my own start here in 1991. To the new officers; you join a proud legacy. Embrace the challenges ahead with agility and leadership. Welcome to the RAF Family, your journey is just beginning.”
The Band of the Royal Air Force College provided the musical accompaniment to the parade, while a Shadow formation flypast from 14 Sqn, RAF Waddington marked the occasion.
Principal and CEO of Lincoln College Group, Mark Locking, said: “It was truly an honour to watch Pilot Officer Ford take part in this celebration and official parade. Ellie has clearly put in the hard work required to rise above her peers and be recognised in this way.
“The Lincoln College Group has been recently named as one of only five newly established Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs) and Ellie is a shining example of why we applied. She should be very proud of her efforts, and we wish her all the best as she continues to forge a career in the Royal Air Force.
“We continue to develop our close partnerships with the key players in the industry both locally and nationally, helping to build a future workforce equipped with the expertise and innovation needed to support the UK’s defence capabilities.”
To find out more about military pathways at the ASI, visit our website.
Photo credit: @Crowncopyright
