Page 8 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, January 2022

8 January 2022 July 2021 http://www.luke.af.mil
Thunderbolt
www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb

63rd FS graduates first female B-course student pilot Breaking Down Cultural Barriers

Senior Airman Phyllis Jimenez
Airman 1st Class David Busby Col. Robert Kongaika, 56th Maintenance Group deputy commander, blows into a
U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Rachel Vander Kolk, 63rd Fighter Squadron B-course student Tongan seashell horn July 15, 2021, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. Kongaika is
pilot, trains to fly the F-35A Lightning II July 23, 2021, at Luke Air Force Base, Ari- the first person from Tonga, a Pacific Island in the Polynesian Kingdom, to achieve
zona. Vander Kolk is the first female B-course graduate in the 63rd FS and her first the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Diversity and inclusion in the U.S. Air
duty station will be Eielson AFB, Alaska. Vander Kolk’s achievement exemplifies Force are warfighting imperatives that capitalize on and celebrate multicultural
Luke AFB’s mission to train the world’s greatest fighter pilots and combat-ready contributions to National Defense, in an environment where all Airmen are valued
Airmen. and respected for their identity, culture and background.

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