training

F35s from the 61st Fighter Squadron refuel near Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. (Air Force photo)

Luke stands up new F-35 squadron

By Brian Everstine on June 22, 2015 Air Education and Training Command, Air Force

The Air Force’s main F-35 pilot training base this month activated another squadron of the next-generation stealth aircraft. The 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, stood up earlier this month during an assumption of command ceremony on June 5. Lt. Col. Gregory Frana, previously the F-35A director of operations for the 61st Fighter Squadron at Luke, will command the new unit. The squadron will begin receiving jets next month, and will train alongside pilots from Norway and Italy. “We will focus our efforts on what we’ve been doing for three generations – training and delivering combat…

An F-35 flies over Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, on the 1,000th sortie for the base. (Senior Airman Devante Williams/Air Force)

Luke F-35 squadron hits 1,000 sorties

By Brian Everstine on April 1, 2015 Air Education and Training Command, Air Force, Airframes

The first operational training base for the F-35A this week hit a new milestone: 1,000 flights. Maj. Joshua Arki, 61st Fighter Squadron instructor pilot, on Tuesday flew the 1,000th sortie at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It is now the fastest wing to reach 1,000 sorties in the F-35, according to the Air Force. The flight occurred about one month before the first official class of student pilots is set to get started at the training center on base. The milestone was the second in a week at the base. Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, commander of the 56th Fighter Wing, flew…

First general officer qualifies in the F-35A

By Brian Everstine on October 2, 2014 Air Combat Command, Air Education and Training Command, Air Force

The first general officer has completed qualification training in the F-35A. Maj. Gen. Jay Silveria, commander of the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center, completed the training on Sept. 26 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Silveria topped off the seven-week training regimen with five hours of flying in two back-to-back sorties along with a hot pit refuel. “The Warfare Center is so involved with the development and future of this aircraft that it was important for me to see and experience this new program at the lowest tactical level and bring that knowledge base back to the higher level strategic…

Pilots from Singapore and Arizona train together in Idaho

By Brian Everstine on August 29, 2013 Air Force

The Air Force and the Defense Department as a whole has been vocal about its shift to the Pacific, and usually that focuses on airmen heading across that ocean. But the continental U.S. also plays host to foreign airmen from other countries, and the service is highlighting a specific group: F-16 pilots visiting Idaho from Singapore, and the Air National Guardsmen training them. Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, this month has been home to visiting Air National Guard pilots from Arizona who are training F-16 pilots from Singapore in combat air-to-air operations. The guardsmen, short on flying hours at…

Disney looking to hire veterans

By Blair Tomlinson on March 15, 2012 Uncategorized, Video

The Walt Disney Company is looking to hire 1,000 veterans over the next three years. Company President and CEO Bob Iger announced the company wide initiative called “Heroes Work Here” on Tuesday, March 13th. There is much more to the new program than just hiring vets. Disney will hold career fairs, offer training and volunteer opportunities. And don’t think you have to head to Orlando just to work at Disney. The company owns ESPN and ABC. Here is a full list of the companies in the Disney family. Want to make your dreams come true? Check out the Disney Careers…

From Tangier to Tucson

By Scott Fontaine on June 28, 2011 Uncategorized

If you’re a foreign policy nerd like some of us on the Air Force Times staff, then you can’t help but think the 162nd Fighter Wing has one of the cooler gigs in the Air Force. The 162nd, an Arizona Air National Guard unit, trains foreign militaries how to fly the F-16. They operate out of Tucson International Airport – home of the famed Tucson International Mariachi Conference! – and get to enjoy the lovely weather of the American Southwest. Their latest customer? The Royal Moroccan Air Force, which sent four F-5 pilots to train up on the Fighting Falcons.…

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