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Cadet Wing accepts Class of 2014

Cadets with the Air Force Academy Class of 2014 swear their oaths of office during the Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony Aug. 4, 2010. Acceptance marks the Class of 2014's transition out of Basic Cadet Training and into the Cadet Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

Cadets with the Air Force Academy Class of 2014 swear their oaths of office during the Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony Aug. 4, 2010. Acceptance marks the Class of 2014's transition out of Basic Cadet Training and into the Cadet Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

Retired Maj. Gen. Ron Sega addresses the Air Force Academy Class of 2014 during the Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony Aug. 4, 2010. General Sega is a member of the Academy's Class of 1974, the partner and legacy class to the Class of 2014. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

Retired Maj. Gen. Ron Sega addresses the Air Force Academy Class of 2014 during the Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony Aug. 4, 2010. General Sega is a member of the Academy's Class of 1974, the partner and legacy class to the Class of 2014. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

Cadet 4th Class Ikenna Ariguzo salutes during the playing of the national anthem during the Air Force Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony Aug. 4, 2010. The ceremony marks the Class of 2014's transition from basic cadets into fourth-class cadets. (U.S. Air Force photo/J. Rachel Spencer)

Cadet 4th Class Ikenna Ariguzo salutes during the playing of the national anthem during the Air Force Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony Aug. 4, 2010. The ceremony marks the Class of 2014's transition from basic cadets into fourth-class cadets. (U.S. Air Force photo/J. Rachel Spencer)

Fourth-class cadets stand at parade rest during the Air Force Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony at the Stillman Parade Field Aug. 4, 2010. The ceremony marks the cadets' completion of Basic Cadet Training and transition into the Academy's Cadet Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Don Branum)

Fourth-class cadets stand at parade rest during the Air Force Academy's Acceptance Day ceremony at the Stillman Parade Field Aug. 4, 2010. The ceremony marks the cadets' completion of Basic Cadet Training and transition into the Academy's Cadet Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Don Branum)

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The basics are gone. Today, there are only cadets.

The Air Force Academy, including graduates of the Class of 1974, welcomed the Class of 2014 into the Cadet Wing Wednesday morning in a ceremony at the Stillman Parade Field.

Retired Maj. Gen. Ron Sega represented the Class of '74, which is the partner class and legacy class to the newly minted cadets.

"You've worked hard; this is an important day," General Sega told the fourth-class cadets. "The nation needs you to be your very best, no matter what you face and no matter what your task."

The general, a former astronaut who served from June 1974 to August 2005, said world events are moving more quickly today than ever before.

"But some things must not change," he added, "and those things are the Air Force core values. The Air Force Academy offers a strong foundation for being successful in a rapidly changing world."

Representatives from the classes of 1974 and 2014 met, and the elder class presented their younger brethren copies of Contrails.

"It's important to learn from the past and to learn about the institution you are about to enter," General Sega said. As he congratulated the Class of 2014 on joining the Cadet Wing, he added, "We're counting on you."