Air Force
GalleryFrom Olympian to airman: Elite athlete completes Air Force basic training
Stars and Stripes
January 14, 2025
Airman Anita Alvarez poses for a photo with her 2024 Paris Olympics silver medal after Basic Military Training graduation at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Jan. 9, 2024. (Kate Anderson/U.S. Air Force)
Three-time Olympic athlete Anita Alvarez has earned herself a new title: airman.
Alvarez graduated Air Force Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas on Jan. 9 — one of 781 airmen to graduate last week. She will join a premier group of athletes in the Air Force World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) to continue her training as an artistic swimmer.
She will be the first recruited Olympic medalist in the program’s history.
“I feel very honored to be getting this opportunity to serve my country while simultaneously representing my country as I look toward the final years of my professional athletic career,” Alvarez said in a news release.
Alvarez competed in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. She won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024 before joining the 737th Training Group for 7½ weeks of basic military training.
“My BMT experience is one I will carry with me for the rest of my life,” she said. “The regimen, discipline, teamwork and resilience needed to get through the past 7½ weeks felt similar to what was needed to make it to and through three Olympic games and all the challenges I’ve faced along the way.”
In the WCAP, the elite athlete will train full time and have the opportunity to qualify for Team USA and compete at the Olympics. Her training will be in addition to completing all annual and ancillary training, professional military education, fitness assessments and other mandatory tasks required of all airmen and Space Force guardians.
The DAF WCAP, managed by Air Force Services Center, was established in 1995 and is open to active duty, National Guard and Reserve Air Force and Space Force personnel who rank the highest in their sports. Since its inception, 14 WCAP athletes have represented Team USA at the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Airman Anita Alvarez smiles with her family after the Basic Military Training Coin Ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Jan. 8, 2025. (Kate Anderson/U.S. Air Force)
Col. E. Jonelle Eychner, Commander, Air Force Services Center, and Dale Filsell, Chief of the World Class Athlete Program, pose for a photo with the newly graduated Airman Anita Alvarez following Basic Military Training graduation at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas on Jan. 9, 2025. (Kate Anderson/U.S. Air Force)
Airman Anita Alvarez embraces her family after the Basic Military Training Coin Ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Jan. 8, 2025. (Kate Anderson/U.S. Air Force)
Airman Anita Alvarez holds the guidon during the Basic Military Training Coin Ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Jan. 8, 2025. (Kate Anderson/U.S. Air Force)
Trainee Anita Alvarez, 331st Training Squadron, hangs from the bars during the Confidence Course at PACER FORGE during one of her final weeks at Basic Military Training on Joint Base San Antonio-Chapman Annex, Texas, Jan. 2, 2025. (Daniel Cruz/U.S. Air Force)
Trainee Anita Alvarez, 331st Training Squadron, walks along the road after going through the gas chamber during Mask Confidence Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas on Dec. 19, 2024. (Jonathan Cotto/U.S. Air Force)
Trainee Anita Alvarez, 331st Training Squadron, completes the push up portion of her official physical fitness test during week five of Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas on Dec. 23, 2024. (Gregory Walker/U.S. Air Force)
Trainee Anita Alvarez, 331st Training Squadron, lines up her shot during combat arms training at Joint Base San Antonio-Chapman Annex on Dec. 26, 2024. (Daniel Cruz/U.S. Air Force)
Trainee Anita Alvarez, 331st Training Squadron, leads from the front during the run portion of her official physical fitness test during week five of Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas on Dec. 23, 2024. (Gregory Walker/U.S. Air Force)