Enlisted Airmen earn elite flight test credentials

Published Sept. 10, 2026
By Laisa Leao
412th Test Wing Public Affairs Office

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --

Seventeen enlisted Airmen earned elite credentials as certified test leaders Sept. 4, marking the successful graduation of Class 26B of the Air Force Test Pilot School’s Enlisted Test Course at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

The intensive, six-week curriculum pushes students through high-level academics and rapid technical training before plunging them into two demanding capstone challenges: developmental testing and operational testing.

"During the developmental test phase, the students worked in teams to write comprehensive test plans, analyze operational risks, build safety plans and design their own test cards," said Master Sgt. Paje Keepers, TPS superintendent of flight operations. "They defended their methodologies before technical and safety review boards, proved their readiness, executed test flights and delivered decision-quality briefs on their findings."

Once developmental trials concluded, the class shifted immediately into operational testing, where the focus pivoted from mechanical specifications to frontline combat capability.

"It was during operational testing that students shifted their mindset to look through the eyes of the warfighter," said Tech. Sgt. Andrew Ramos, Enlisted Test Course manager. "They designed detailed scenarios, built operator questionnaires, and established methodologies to answer the ultimate question: Did we build the right system for our warfighters?"

The graduation ceremony highlighted top performers across three major award categories, emphasizing both collaborative teamwork and individual technical excellence. The Best Test Team Award was presented to Team HAVE MERCY, composed of Master Sgt. Dalton Anderson, 417th Test and Evaluation Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Erin Boswell, 20th Space Surveillance Squadron; Master Sgt. Benjamin Clark; Tech. Sgt. Devin McGrath, 413th Flight Test Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Eric Parker, 417th Flight Test Squadron; and Master Sgt. Arturo Scolamacchia, 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron.

Two students finished in the top 10 percent of the class. Master Sgt. Edwin Baxley, 417th Flight Test Squadron, earned Distinguished Graduate honors for exceptional academic merit. Master Sgt. Arturo Scolamacchia, 28th TES, received the prestigious Col. Ulysses S. Nero Test Leader Award, the course's pinnacle individual recognition.

The award honors the legacy of Sgt. Ulysses S. Nero, a pioneering enlisted aviator tasked in the 1920s by Gen. Billy Mitchell to prove that aircraft could sink heavily armored warships through precision bombing, not just explosive payload. Nero dropped a bomb directly down the smokestack of the USS New Jersey, sinking the battleship in just three minutes and 17 seconds. He went on to secure 12 military patents, developing critical advancements in superchargers, gyroscopes, bomb fuses, and the iconic Norden bombsight. A century later, Scolamacchia earned the honor for demonstrating the highest overall academic performance, instructor ratings and leadership discipline required of an enlisted test leader.

Col. Maryann Karlen, Air Force Test Pilot School commandant, congratulates Master Sgt. Arturo Scolamacchia, 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron, before presenting him with the Col. Ulysses S. Nero Test Leader Award during the TPS Enlisted Test Course Class 26B graduation at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Sept. 4. (U.S. Air Force photo by Chloe Bonaccorsi)

Equipped with new test leaders' identifiers, the 17 graduates now return to flight test squadrons and evaluation units across the country to guide the future of air, space and cyberspace capabilities.

Tech. Sgt. Andrew Ramos, left, Enlisted Test Course manager, poses for a photo with the Class 26B of the Air Force Test Pilot School’s Enlisted Test Course at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Sept. 4. Pictured from left after Ramos: Master Sgt. Arturo Scolamacchia, 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.; Tech. Sgt. Richard Jimenez, 418th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif.; Master Sgt. Edwin Baxley, 417th Flight Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.; Master Sgt. Michael Velasco, 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.; Tech. Sgt. Devin McGrath, 413th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Master Sgt. Gregory Primus, 15th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev.; Master Sgt. Benjamin Clark; Tech. Sgt. Jacob Ennis, Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force, Eglin AFB, Fla.; Staff Sgt. Joseph Volante, 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, Whiteman AFB, Mo.; Tech. Sgt. Jacob Stephens, 40th Flight Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.; Tech. Sgt. Erin Boswell, 20th Space Surveillance Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.; Tech. Sgt. Zachary White, 72nd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron, Detachment 5, Springfield, Va.; Tech. Sgt. Eric Parker, 417th Flight Test Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.; Tech. Sgt. Tanner Sullivan, 418th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif.; Tech. Sgt. Joaquin Arana, 412th Maintenance Group, Edwards AFB, Calif.; Tech. Sgt. Robert Rutledge, 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev.; Master Sgt. Dalton Anderson, 417th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif. U.S. Air Force photo by Chloe Bonaccorsi)