Page 6 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, Oct. 6 2017

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October 2017 56TH OPERATIONS GROUP Thunderbolt
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http://www.luke.af.mil
21st Fighter Squadron Gamblers
Mission: Train lethal warriors Demographics: There are 13 instructor pilots, 12 civilians and 75 con- tracted maintenance professionals. Leadership Commander:
Lt. Col. Matthew Tuzel
Director of operations: Lt. Col. Mark Whisler
Fun facts: The unit has flown the P-47 Thunderbolt, F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sa- bre, F-4 Phantom II, OA-10 Thunderbolt II and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
62nd Fighter Squadron Spikes
Mission: Train the world’s best F-35 pilots.
Vision: Develop professional fighter pilots and leaders for the U.S. Air Force and our partners. Demographics: Currently there are seven U.S. Air Force officers, eleven Norwegian officers, five Italian officers, and seven enlisted personnel.
Leadership
Commander: Lt. Col. Peter Lee Director of operations: Lt. Col. Robert Miller
Norwegian senior national rep- resentative: Lt. Col. Martin Tesli Italian senior national represen- tative: Maj. Giuseppe Ambrosio
Responsi-
bilities: The
62nd FS
is the only
multi-partner
F-35 squadron
in the world and is responsible for conducting F-35 partner training for the United States and seven partner nations at Luke; the 62nd will eventually consist of 14 U.S., seven Norwe- gian and five Italian F-35s.
Fun facts: The squadron motto: “Spike Aces ... 357 and Counting!” Since January 1941, the 62nd FS has destroyed 357 enemy aircraft either in the air or on the ground.
56th Training Squadron
Mission: Train the world’s
greatest F-35 and F-16 pilots
by providing peerless instruc-
tion, virtual training and
training systems management.
Demographics: There are 16 officers, nine gov- ernment civilians and more than 200 contract employees.
Leadership
Commander: Lt. Col. Matthew Hayden Director of Operations: Lt. Col. Andy Pitts (F-35) and Lt. Col. Nathan Harrold (F-16) Responsibilities: Building the future of airpower, the TRS provides 100 percent of the Air Force’s initially qualified F-35 pilots and more than 60 percent of the initially qualified F-16 pilots, totaling almost one-half of all the Air Force’s fighter pilots each year. It conducts the world’s finest instruc- tion in aircraft systems, air-to-air, air-to-ground, suppression of enemy air defenses fundamentals, special missions and high performance aircraft physiology. Additionally, the TRS manages all lesson content, courseware, aircrew training devices, graduation evaluation program, and the 56th Fighter Wing’s programmed flying training for 13 F-16 and F-35 training syllabi executed across three geographically separated training locations. Fun fact: Our contract employees have survived more than 4,500 hours of aerial combat and have been awarded 12 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 98 Air Medals and one Purple Heart.
56th Operations Support Squadron
Mission: We provide outstanding ser- vice and operational support. Demographics: There are 16 officers, 180 enlisted, 28 civilians and two contractors.
Leadership
Commander: Lt. Col. Paul Jelinek Operations officer: Lt. Col. James Smith
Superintendent: Senior Master Sgt.
George Kirkwood
Responsibilities: Provide airfield management, air traffic control, rated training and flying training syllabus support, weapons, tactics, and intel- ligence expertise, weather forecasting services, flight records management, operations scheduling, aircrew flight equipment, and rated manning man- agement. Executes an annual flying
hour program of more than 24,260 hours and 18,100 sor- ties.
Fun facts: The
squadron war cry, “Get
in the fight!” serves as a call to arms and a challenge to others to match the squadron’s excellence.
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