MONINO, Moscow Region. June 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The 79th graduation of cadets took place at the Gagarin Air Force Academy on Saturday.
"The current graduates of the academy are 176 well-trained commanding officers capable of manifesting creativity and coming up with initiatives who will join the Air Force and other Russian law-enforcement agencies," Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Eight cadets graduated with a gold medal and 33 with honors, he stressed.
According to Mikhailov, over 50 graduates of the academy have participated in combat operations and received combat orders or other state awards.
Sixteen foreign servicemen have graduated from the academy this year, including two with a gold medal and six with honors.
Speaking about the quality of personnel training in Air Force higher educational establishments, Mikhailov said that present-day graduates have "good prospects." "We are constantly improving methods and quality of education and taking care of our servicemen's living conditions," he stressed.
Asked about the number of flight hours per person in the Air Force, the commander-in-chief noted that it grew by 68 percent last year and "we are keeping the pace this year."