Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Casey H. Kyhl

Ensign Samuel Charles Dulaney, a native of Collinsville, has his “Wings of Gold” pined on by his fiancée, Andrea McLaughlin, during a ceremony on board Naval Air Station Meridian Thursday. Dulaney was among 11 aviators who were recognized for their achievements after 12 months of training. Dulaney, a 2007 graduate of West Lauderdale High School, earned a bachelor of science degree in political science from Mississippi State University in 2010. His next duty station will be NAS Oceana, Va., flying the FA-18 Super Hornet with the squadron VFA-106. “I consider myself very lucky that I got to come back to Meridian to complete my advanced training. It was a blessing that my entire family got to be here today. There are guys from all across the country that earned their wings today and some of their families could not be here.” Dulaney said shortly after graduating from MSU he attended an air show at NAS Meridian featuring the Blue Angels. “It was really then that I knew I wanted to join the Navy and fly jets. I am blessed that I got to fly the T-45 look down and know exactly where I was – flying over my hometown and that made my training even more special.”