Page 1 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt 9-25-15
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7UDLQWKHZRUOG·VJUHDWHVW)DQG)ÀJKWHUSLORWV Sept. 25, 2015
Vol. 15, No. 36
INSIDE Airman’s son survives brain tumor
STORIES by Senior Airman
Drug take-back day, 3 GRACE LEE
A1C leads Luke Airmen, 4
Fire prevention week, 5 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Courtesy photo
Suicide prevention, 7
New military star card, 10 Every once in a while there are moments that change ev- Jaycee Boyer, wife of Tech. Sgt. Tim Boyer, 56th Fighter Wing Pub-
FEATURE erything. For one mom and dad, it was learning they might lic Affairs media operations NCO in charge, comforts Paul, 2, after
lose their 2-year-old son, Paul. his surgery on his brain due to a tumor.
Airman 1st Class Ridge Shan
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EOD SHARPENS SKILLS liked to camp out there sometimes. There was a loud shriek
and when Tech. Sgt. Tim Boyer, 56th Fighter Wing Public
See Page 12 Affairs media operations NCO in charge, and his wife Jaycee,
ran to the bedroom, they found Paul having a seizure.
INDEX
“When I turned the corner to his room, it was really obvious
Action line ............................. 2 Paul was having a seizure even though I had never seen one
Briefs..................................... 3 in person,” said Jaycee, a stay-at-home mom. “Our 7-year-old
Spotlight ................................ 4 daughter, Jenell, dialed 911, the paramedics came and then
Diversions ........................... 20 we were taken to the emergency room.”
Sports.................................. 23
Initially, doctors believed Paul had suffered a febrile sei-
QUOTE OF THE WEEK zure, a convulsion caused by a fever in small children, until
they noticed a bruise on his head caused by a fall Paul had
“Seeking out and accepting a new two days earlier.
challenge is what we need to do to
progress as successful leaders. We The doctor ordered a computerized tomography scan and
must continually push ourselves to found what they thought at the time was a cystic mass. Paul
conquer our self-doubt and optimize was then transferred to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
our productivity. Too much comfort for further evaluation.
in your life can lead to complacency
which results in mediocrity and sub- “They found a tumor and not a cystic mass,” Tim said. “But
standard performance.” WKHLU SHGLDWULF QHXURVXUJHRQ ZDVQ·W JRLQJ WR EH EDFN IRU D
week, so Paul had to be transferred again, and at that time
Master Sgt. Pablo Vales P\ZLIHDVNHGIRUKLPWREHWUDQVIHUUHGWR3KRHQL[&KLOGUHQ·V
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referred to Dr. David Adelson, one of the best neurosurgeons
Today LQKLVÀHOG
98°/79° “One of the doctors said it looks to be a dysembryoplastic
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See SURVIVES, Page 18
F-35 mission continues to evolve
6WRU\DQGSKRWRE\6WDII6JW operational in June and the 62nd Fighter F-35s by the end of 2015 and be fully op-
STACI MILLER 6TXDGURQ UHFHLYHG LWV ÀUVW SULPDULO\ DV- erational by the end of 2017. They will be
signed aircraft in August. home to Norwegian and Italian jets.
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
“The 61st FS is up, running and fully “The two Norwegian jets are expected to
$VWKHZRUOG·VSUHPLHUH)/LJKWQLQJ,, operational,” said Lt. Col. David Lercher, arrive before the end of the year,” Lercher
training base, Luke Air Force Base is con- 56th Fighter Wing F-35 division chief. “In VDLG´:HVKRXOGH[SHFWWKHÀUVW,WDOLDQMHWV
stantly growing and improving to provide order to be considered fully operational the to arrive in spring. Eventually, the 62nd
state-of-the-art training for F-35 pilots and squadron must have 24 primarily assigned )6ZLOOKDYHVHYHQ1RUZHJLDQMHWVDQGÀYH
maintainers. aircraft.” Italian jets.”
The F-35 is an aircraft with an interna- At the moment, the 61st FS is home to Construction on the 63rd Fighter Squad-
tional footprint unlike any other in history. two Australian jets and will receive many ron is in the works and should be open by
Currently, Luke has two F-35 squadrons more. the end of 2016.
but will eventually be home to six squad-
rons, all housing partner nations. “The Australians will have 12 jets here ´7KHUGVKRXOGJHWWKHLUÀUVWDLUSODQH
by the middle of 2019,” Lercher said. See F-35 MISSION, Page 15
The 61st Fighter Squadron became fully
The 62nd FS is on track to have eight
Go to luke.af.mil for Luke Facebook link 8VH\RXUVPDUWSKRQHWR
connect to our website!
