Home isn’t just where you land, it’s also the community that helps you take off. And for many in the WeVett family, including co-founder Evan Kaufman, the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) forms a cornerstone of that community. Whether your path after graduation is administration or aviation, the Academy’s culture and commission leaves a lifelong impact
As we head into our fourth annual WeVett Tailgate at the Air Force Academy, we’re taking a look back at where it all began with our new series, WeVett Waypoints.
A waypoint is a marker along your path – a moment, a milestone, or a connection that shapes the direction of your life. In this series, we’re celebrating the moments that helped our community members find, create, and carry home wherever their journey has taken them.
First up is Captain Kitt Regier, a 2021 USAFA grad whose journey has taken him from Kansas to Colorado and far beyond. Like many Academy alum, Regier’s story isn’t just about reaching new heights. It’s about perseverance, possibility, and most importantly, people.
When Capt Kitt Regier graduated from the Academy in 2021 with a degree in Economics, he left with more than academic excellence and ambition. He packed his bags for pilot training with a fresh perspective and an ever-expanding network of Air Force family.
Originally, it was the unique experiences, academic rigor, and impressive alumni network that attracted him to USAFA. “Most of all, I wanted to be a fighter pilot and knew that the Academy would provide the best chance of doing just that,” Regier states. “Oh, and I love Colorado, so the location was a huge plus!”
His plans to fly fighters has since come to fruition. Now an F-35 pilot at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, Regier is quick to point out that the real impact of USAFA doesn’t always hit you while you’re marching across the terrazzo. “I think the real impact to my own perspective came after graduating,” he says. “You look back and realize how unique the Academy was, how impressive your peers were, how compelling the classroom could be, and how much fun you had (whether you realized it at the time or not).”
This is what it means to be an Academy grad. It’s not just about personal achievement, it’s about carrying the values and relationships you’ve formed during your four years in Colorado Springs into each new chapter.
For Regier, some of those chapters were more challenging than others. “Doolie year kicked my butt academically, physically, and emotionally,” he admits. But Regier rose to the occasion. “After that first year, I found my footing, caught up to the intensive pace, and came out the other side a much stronger, well-rounded person with countless friends.”
Friends found in these circumstances are both rare and invaluable. Regier notes, “There is an immediate sense of trust and a unique connection that only exists between a few people who have experienced the challenge, chaos, and camaraderie of the Air Force Academy.”
Now, as he puts it, his USAFA community shows up in all corners of the globe. “As a USAFA grad, I know that I’ll have a good friend essentially anywhere I find myself around the world. That is so unique and can’t be said for the other commissioning sources.”
It’s part of what makes events like the WeVett Tailgate so meaningful. To Academy grads, coming back to campus, even if it’s just for a ballgame, marks a return to their prior stomping grounds. It’s a reminder of lessons learned and a glimpse back at who stood beside you when you were becoming who you currently are.
“Seeing old faces, shaking new hands, grabbing coffee and a burrito before the game, that’s the good stuff,” Regier says. We’d have to agree. Every year, the WeVett Tailgate does double duty, serving as equal parts pre-game party and mini Academy reunion. When asked who he would love to see at the event this year Regier says it’s “gotta be my boy Caleb Ferguson. We roomed together Firstie year. A million good memories. I’d tap him on the shoulder with a Fireball shot and get the party started.”
As for the next generation of cadets who find themselves in the place Regier once was, this is the advice he would give.
“Work hard, be a bro, and savor the moment. Your lifelong friends live just down the hall. You’re at a world-class institution, and people pay a lot of money to live somewhere with comparable views. Carpe diem. Get involved in something that interests you, take a second to stare at the mountains on a crisp morning, talk to someone new over a cup of Mitch’s coffee, have a beer with a bro/broette at HAP’s, study hard and play harder!”
