‘Torch’ Aguon flies fighter jets for the Air Force | Lifestyle

Celestino “Torch” Aguon’s love for aviation began at 6 six years old, when he first dreamed of flying a fighter jet.

“I remember when I was about 6 six years old and my family and I were driving along the main road on Andersen Air Force Base, passing by the airfield,” Aguon, a Mangilao native who’s now a U.S. Air Force pilot, said in an Air Force press release.

“Looking back, I realize the aircraft I saw was most likely an F-15C under one of the sun shades, and I remember thinking how cool it would be to fly it one day,” he said in the release.

Aguon has spent eight years on active duty, during which he’s been able to make five stops on Guam.

Over the past three years, Aguon has returned to for a variety of exercises and training to include: Cope North three times, Valiant Shield, and a Resilient Typhoon exercise.

The Air Force captain and his team made his most recent stop while participating in Exercise Cope North 2022. The training, sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, is held annually at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.

The exercise took place Feb. 2-18 and included aerial refueling, close air support, and counter-air missions for fighter aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force.

“I got to take gas from my cousin, U.S. Air Force Capt. Dustin Alger, who is also stationed at Kadena AB with me, as he was flying his aircraft and I was flying mine — and to do it in our hometown was surreal,” Aguon said.

Aguon pursued his dreams right after college, learning to fly aircraft and acquiring his private pilot and commercial licenses. He began further training in the states, where his career took flight when he finally landed a job as an F-15 pilot in 2014.

Now an F-15C Eagle pilot with the 67th Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base in Japan, Aguon cherishes the opportunities he gets to visit home.

“Being here for Cope North 2022, I think of how we are promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific and it resonates for me since that is where my home is, and it’s such a huge honor being part of the team that enables that … It feels so surreal that, 26 years later, here I am flying the jet I saw when I first dreamed of being a pilot,” Aguon said.