FROM STAFF REPORTS

Air Force 1st Lt. Kirk W. Hoffman, a 1999 graduate of Coosa Valley Academy in Harpersville, recently received his “Wings of Gold” and was designated a navigator after completing the 23-week Navigator Training Course with Training Squadron 86 in Pensacola, Fla.

During the final phase of the program, he received extensive instruction in celestial, grid, global and tactical navigation. Hoffman’s training included use of flight simulators and participation in more than 100 hours of in-flight training.

Hoffman joined the Air Force in July 2004