Air Force athletes chasing Olympic dreams in between serving the nation in a critical time

As U.S. airmen carry out combat operations in the war with Iran, a small group of service members is representing the Air Force in a different arena: elite international sports.

Through the World Class Athlete Program, or WCAP, Air Force athletes can train full-time while remaining on active duty. Their assignment is to compete at the highest level, promote the service and attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games. When their athletic careers end, they return to conventional military roles.

The program’s mission has taken on added weight since U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28. An April 6 CENTCOM fact sheet said American forces had struck more than 13,000 targets using bombers, fighters, tankers, surveillance aircraft, electronic-warfare platforms and airlifters. The conflict remained unresolved in August.

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Against that backdrop, Airman First Class Anita Alvarez, 2nd Lt. Texas Tanner and 1st Lt. Wyatt Hendrickson are training toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Retired Air Force combat rescue officer Chad Senior offers an example of how an elite athlete’s experience can eventually translate into operational military service.

Their circumstances are not identical. Alvarez and Senior are Olympians, although Senior competed through the Army’s athlete program before joining the Air Force. Tanner and Hendrickson have not yet reached the Olympics, but both have won major national championships while serving.

Alvarez entered the Air Force as an established Olympic medalist. She had already competed in three Olympic Games and helped the United States win the artistic-swimming team silver medal in Paris in 2024.

She entered basic military training in November 2024 and graduated at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in January 2025. According to the Air Force, she became the first Olympic medalist specifically recruited into the Department of the Air Force’s WCAP program.

The Air Force did not produce her Olympic medal, but it has helped extend her career. Before enlisting, Alvarez said she balanced eight-hour training days with side jobs, school and uncertainty about what she would do after leaving her sport. WCAP allowed her to make training, recovery and mental preparation her full-time job.

"I can put everything not only into the physical training every day, but also into my mental performance, into my recovery," Alvarez said.

Her results since joining the service suggest the arrangement is working. World Aquatics records show that Alvarez won two World Cup bronze medals in team events in 2025. In 2026, she added a team acrobatic gold medal in Medellin, three silver medals in team and duet events, and two more bronze medals.

Alvarez is also completing her degree while considering a post-athletic Air Force career. She expressed interest in aerospace physiology, becoming an officer and possibly pursuing pilot training.

Listening to other airmen discuss deployments and operational missions has also changed how she views her athletic assignment.

"I’m grateful for the opportunities to be able to compete and travel and do all these things in my sport because of the military members and what they’re doing overseas," Alvarez said.

Tanner’s rise came through the Air Force Academy. The Sheridan, Wyoming, native completed one of the strongest throwing careers in Academy history before graduating and receiving his commission in 2026.

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During his final collegiate season, Tanner set American collegiate records in both the discus and hammer. He finished second in the hammer and fourth in the discus at the NCAA outdoor championships, ending his Academy career as a six-time All-American.

Only weeks after commissioning, Tanner won his first senior national championship. He threw 65.46 meters to capture the U.S. discus title in New York on July 25, winning by nearly a meter and a half. Two days earlier, he placed sixth in the hammer with a throw of 71.64 meters.

The performance moved Tanner closer to his goal of competing at the Los Angeles Games.

"It was to be a national champion," Tanner said. "Now that I’ve accomplished that, it’s to be the best in the world."

Tanner said military service is part of a family tradition that includes his father, aunt, uncle, cousin and grandfather. He did not enter the Academy expecting to become a professional athlete, but WCAP opened that path after he had already committed to military service.

When his throwing career ends, Tanner expects to enter Air Force contracting, helping acquire the goods and services needed to operate aircraft, installations and military units.

"To be able to serve my country in more ways than one is honestly just something that is a legacy through my family," Tanner said.

Hendrickson has produced one of WCAP’s most visible recent achievements. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 2024, he used his final season of college eligibility at Oklahoma State while serving on active duty through the program.

In March 2025, Hendrickson defeated Olympic champion Gable Steveson to win the NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship. He finished the season undefeated and received the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s outstanding college wrestler.

Hendrickson then won the 2025 Pan American championship and earned a place on the U.S. senior world team. He placed 17th at that year’s World Championships before returning in 2026 to win another Pan American title.

In June, Hendrickson defeated world medalist Mason Parris in two consecutive matches at Final X, securing the 125-kilogram position on the U.S. world team for the second straight year.

"If this were an Olympic year, I’d be an Olympian," Hendrickson said.

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His long-term goal is an Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles. He said WCAP provides the command support and resources that make it possible for him to continue wrestling while remaining an active-duty officer.

"If it weren’t for WCAP, I would not be a wrestler today," Hendrickson said. "They are really the backbone of support while I’m trying to pursue an Olympic gold medal."

Hendrickson also acknowledged that other airmen are performing operational work he otherwise might be doing. After wrestling, he expects to serve as an acquisitions officer responsible for obtaining equipment and other resources for the Air Force.

"I really have to give more credit to the airmen that are kind of filling my role right now," he said. "Hopefully I can repay them by bringing back a gold medal for the United States of America."

Senior’s career shows what that transition from international competition to military operations can look like.

Senior competed in modern pentathlon through the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. He entered the 2000 Olympic year ranked No. 1 in the world, finished sixth at the Sydney Games and placed 13th at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Senior decided to leave elite competition and move into a more operational military role. He became an Air Force combat rescue officer and served with the 920th Rescue Wing and 308th Rescue Squadron.

Air Force and Army records credit him with two deployments to Afghanistan and one to Iraq. He later became the 308th Rescue Squadron’s director of operations and rose to the rank of full lieutenant before retiring.

Senior now works as a contractor supporting the Air Force and helping plan contingency rescues for human-spaceflight crews.

He argues that WCAP’s value cannot be measured only by medals. Elite athletes arrive with years of experience in discipline, teamwork, failure and high-pressure performance. Those qualities, he said, can later strengthen operational military units.

Senior views the program as an investment serving three groups: athletes receive the opportunity to pursue world-class goals, the military gains future service members and recruiting ambassadors, and taxpayers gain personnel accustomed to performing under stress.

The real return, he said, comes after athletes leave competition and bring those habits back to the military.

For Alvarez, Tanner and Hendrickson, that test remains ahead. Their present assignment is not combat service, and none claimed that winning a medal was equivalent to carrying out a military mission.

Instead, they described their athletic careers as another form of representation — and as preparation for the work they will eventually perform outside the pool, throwing circle or wrestling arena.

Alvarez is pursuing a fourth Olympic appearance. Tanner is a national champion only months after receiving his commission. Hendrickson has earned consecutive positions on the U.S. world team.

Their immediate objective is Los Angeles. The Air Force’s longer wager is that the discipline required to reach the Olympics will remain valuable after the competition ends and a different kind of service begins.