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Thunderbolt NEWS Dec. 18, 2015 3
http://www.luke.af.mil Facebook.com/LukeThunderbolt
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side his sortie wingman and instructor, Lt. Col. Gregory Frana, 62nd FS commander, Dec. 14 at Luke Air
Force Base. Hanche has been training with the American pilots of the 62nd FS for the past few months to Thunderbolt
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For more photos, see Page 14. The Thunderbolt will not be published Dec. 25 or Jan. 1,
2016. Look for the 2015 Year in Review edition available Jan. 8,
Norwegian F-35 flies for first time under Norwegian command 2016. Regular editions of the Thunderbolt will resume Jan. 15.
Story and photos by Airman 1st Class today to have seen the first time a Norwegian F-35 has DFAC Christmas Day lunch
RIDGE SHAN been flown by a Norwegian pilot.”
The Ray V. Hensman Dining Facility will serve Christmas
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs The F-35, which was produced at the Lockheed Mar- Day lunch 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner from 4 to 6 p.m.
tin facility in Texas, is one of the first two Norwegian Dec. 25 in Bldg. 545. Active-duty, retirees and their dependents
Maj. Morten Hanche, a Norwegian F-35 Lightning II F-35s produced, both of which are currently stationed are welcome. For more information, call 623-856-6396.
student pilot training under the 62nd Fighter Squad- at Luke for development and training.
ron, flew the first sortie of a Norwegian F-35 Monday Exchange doubles gas savings
at Luke Air Base. An American pilot, Lt. Col. Gregory Frana, com-
mander of the 62nd FS, flew alongside Hanche and Drivers fueling up with a Military Star card will receive
Hanche has been training at Luke under the instruc- guided him through the sortie. Frana commands the 10 cents off per gallon of fuel today through Sunday at the Ex-
tion of American instructor pilots for the past several training efforts of the international pilots assigned to change gas station. For more information, go to www.myecp.com.
months in order to be among Norway’s first F-35 pilots the 62nd FS.
and instructors, part of an effort to foster international DFAC closes for two weeks
cooperation in the development of global F-35 fleets, which “This was a momentous occasion for Norway, for
include the air forces of countries like Australia and Italy. Luke, and for the United States Air Force,” Frana said. The Ray V. Hensman Dining Facility will close Jan. 11
“We’ve been standing up all of our operations here at through 27, 2016, to replace the fire suppression system. Es-
“The flight was smooth, and it was a good sortie,” Luke with the partnerships we have with our eight sential Station Messing card members will be placed on base
Hanche said. “We worked a close-air support scenario partner nations in mind, and these relationships will allowance for subsistence during that time. The Falcon Inn
with ground air traffic controllers and practiced in- continue to develop as we receive more F-35s from all Flight Kitchen will be open, however; if meal card members
tegration with ground forces. The aircraft was very of our partner nations.” choose to eat there, they will be considered cash paying cus-
well-behaved.” tomers and charged a surcharge. For more information, call
Two other Norwegian pilots are now undergoing the the DFAC at 623-856-6396.
This event, marking the first flight of a Norwegian- initial academic phase of their training here with more
bound F-35 at the hands of a Norwegian pilot, was at- slated to arrive in March. These pilots will eventually Chief’s promotion party
tended and observed by Maj. Gen. Per-Egil Rygg, Royal join Hanche in flying. Norwegian maintainers are also
Norwegian air force chief of staff. present at Luke, learning to repair and maintain the Congratulate the new Luke Air Force Base chief master
F-35s that will one day be on their home flightlines sergeants at a promotion party at 3 p.m. today at Club Five Six
“The way Luke Air Force Base and the 56th Fighter in Norway. Eventually, all of these Airmen will return in Harlow’s Lounge. There will be free food, drinks and music.
Wing have handled this flight and the overall training home to help to develop the training program of their
of our pilots is extraordinary,” Rygg said. “This partner- own air force. Thrift shop closure
ship is very important to Norway, and I’m very proud
The thrift shop will be closed today through Jan. 6 when it
THUNDERBOLT ALMANAC will return to normal business hours.
Fiscal 2016 graduates Scholarships for military children
61st FS............................................................ 5 314th FS ........................................................ 4 The Scholarships for Military Children Program are ac-
62nd FS........................................................... 0 56th TRS...................................................... 23 cepting applications at the Luke Air Force Base Commis-
309th FS ......................................................... 4 607th ACS.................................................... 53 sary and commissaries around the world. Applicants must
310th FS ....................................................... 13 372nd TRS, Det. 12 ..................................... 31 be a dependent, unmarried child, younger than 21, or 23 if
311th FS ......................................................... 4 56th OSS (IFTU) ........................................... 0 enrolled as a full-time student at a college or university, of
active-duty service members, Reserve or Guard members,
Hours flown Sorties flown T-Bolts 172 Luke Airmen retirees or survivors of a military member who died while
Deployed are deployed to on active duty, or survivor of a retiree. Applications must ar-
F-35 1,110.0 744 rive by close of business Feb. 12, 2016. For more information,
F-16 3,016.1 2,295 15 countries visit www.militaryscholar.org, or call 856-616-9311, or email
around the world. militaryscholar@scholarshipmanagers.com.
Club Five Six change
Club Five Six is open for lunch 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday. They are now offering soup, salad, sandwiches,
hamburgers and wraps from the grill Monday through Friday.
The buffet is available Tuesday through Friday. For more infor-
mation, call Melissa Arnold at 623-856-6446, ext. 226.
A&FRC closure
The 56th Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readi-
ness Center will be closed noon to 3 p.m. today for an official
function. In the case of an emergency, call 602-738-3492.
Changes at arts, crafts, auto skills
The Arts and Crafts building and auto skills area are under-
going changes. Arts and crafts has new carpet, a new resale
area, expanded engraving capabilities and a new state-of-the-
art mat cutter. Auto skills has a new 18,000-pound lift and
new alignment equipment. The car wash has been renovated
with new equipment.
Adult ceramics class
The 56th Force Support Squadron Arts and Crafts center
is offering an adult ceramics class at 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Participants must provide their own greenware or bisque pieces
and supplies. The cost is $7 per person and includes on kiln-
firing for the in-class piece only. Additional kiln firings will be
charged accordingly. For more information, or to register, call
623-856-6502.
Holiday costumes for rent
Elf and Santa costumes are for rent at 56th FSS Outdoor
Recreation. To reserve a costume for a day, weekend, holiday
or by the week, call 623-856-6267.
