Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Brendan A. Flynn, a former Civil Air Patrol cadet, was awarded the gold wings of a Coast Guard aviator upon completing flight training.

Flynn was named to the Commodore's List with Distinction, recognizing his superior achievement in both the flight syllabus and academic curriculum during advanced phases of rotary wing training.

Upon graduation from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2017, with a degree in Marine and Environmental Sciences, he reported to pre-flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola. He then went on to fixed wing training in the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II and advanced helicopter training in the TH-57 Sea Ranger at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla.

Flynn was home-schooled and was a member of the Thames River Composite Squadron based at Groton-New London Airport. As a CAP cadet he earned the Amelia Earhart Award, qualified as a private pilot, and visited Australia as part of the International Air Cadet Exchange program. A talented musician and composer, he performed his original concerto for piano and two strings at Connecticut College in 2016 playing the piano.

Flynn will report to the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., to qualify in the Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk. Upon completion of standardization training and certification he will be assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod.