Posted on December 28, 2011 by Fighter Country
At Luke Air Force Base, we’re proud to be part of the community in the West Valley. We recognize that the support of surrounding communities is vital to our success as we carry out our mission of training the world’s greatest F-16 pilots and maintainers.
We’ve had an outstanding year at Luke. This year, we graduated 372 pilots, 529 crew chiefs, and 68 intelligence specialists. We deployed 484 Airmen in support of U.S. operations overseas, while continuing to accomplish the mission at home.
We also earned a rating of “Excellent” on the Unit Compliance Inspection conducted by Air Education and Training Command. This is a major inspection conducted every two years which assesses our compliance with regulations. The results validated what I have seen over the past 14 months as the wing commander here and are a testament to the professionalism of our men and women at Luke.
Posted on December 15, 2010 by Fighter Country
12/10/2010 - LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. – The skies around Luke Air Force Base will be busier than normal Wednesday during Cactus Starfighter, a large force exercise for the 310th Fighter Squadron and 310th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. During Cactus Starfighter, the combined efforts of Luke units will launch more than 30 F-16s at one time. The exercise will focus on mission planning and coordination in addition to aerial maneuvers. All student pilots in the F-16 Basic Course must participate in similar exercises at the end of their training, but this Cactus Starfighter is unique in the number of aircraft launching simultaneously and…
Posted on November 16, 2010 by Fighter Country
by Capt. Gerardo Gonzalez 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs 11/12/2010 – LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. — Sixty five new honorary commanders joined the 56th Fighter Wing after being inducted in a ceremony recently in Club Five Six, as part of a program designed to strengthen relationships between the base and local communities. The Luke AFB Honorary Commanders Program partners unit commanders and others in leadership positions with civilian business and community leaders from the Phoenix metropolitan area. During the two-year term, military commanders are encouraged to get to know their honoraries and invite them to their units for tours…
Posted on July 29, 2010 by Fighter Country
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Arizona’s local and state government officials, as well as the Arizona congressional delegation, are delighted with today’s decision that the Air Force has selected Luke Air Force Base as the preferred location for the new F-35 Pilot Training Center. With today’s decision by the Air Force, Luke is poised to transition from its current F-16 training mission to become the Air Force’s F-35 “school house,” subject to completion of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process that is currently underway. “Today’s announcement is great news for our region and our state and represents a major milestone and the…
Posted on June 19, 2010 by Fighter Country
Posted on May 20, 2010 by Fighter Country
5/18/2010 - LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. – The 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base will soon begin looking for a new wing weapons officer. Maj. Josh Wood, current 56th FW Weapons officer, will soon be departing Luke AFB and no longer fly F-16s, but the next generation aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. With Air Force bases across the globe submitting recommendations, Major Wood is one of five pilots selected out of approximately 150 candidates to fly the F-35. “First off, I’m extremely humbled and it means the world to me,” said Major Wood. “I can’t describe what an unbelievable opportunity this is.”…
Posted on February 17, 2010 by Fighter Country
In the last several months, there has been a flurry of public meetings, media coverage and varying opinions on the campaign to bring the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program to Luke Air Force Base (AFB). Unfortunately, there have been many opinions that were misconstrued as facts that could potentially hurt the opportunity to have Luke AFB chosen as the new JSF training base for the Department of Defense. As mayor of Surprise, I want to state my full support for bringing the F-35 training program to Arizona. Surprise has more flyovers of aircraft than any other West Valley city…
Posted on February 16, 2010 by Fighter Country
Local, State Leaders Work Together to Make Arizona A National Model for Protecting Military Bases West Valley and state leaders have been working together to take proactive steps in preserving and enhancing the long-term mission viability of the state’s military installations. Their actions may soon pay off as Luke Air Force Base is one of several Air Force bases being considered for the upcoming F-35 training mission. Since the first successful state legislation was passed in 1978, there has been a coordinated and continuous approach to establishing compatible land uses around military bases in Arizona, including Luke. State laws establish…
Posted on February 8, 2010 by Fighter Country
By Tom Browning Luke Air Force Base has been home to the “school house” of the Air Force since the 1940’s and has become the premier location for Air Force fighter pilot training in the nation. As the Air Force seeks a second training site for the F-35 or Joint Strike Fighter, Arizona should lead the competition due to a number of key decisions made by the state and local leadership, the vastness of the training environment and a number of variables that make Luke AFB unique among its competition. Airspace Arizona is unmatched in its availability of range space…
Posted on February 8, 2010 by Fighter Country
By Terry Goddard, Attorney General of Arizona The legal agreement to prevent residential encroachment around Luke Air Force Base and its auxiliary facilities represents a major victory for the citizens of Arizona. The settlement is significant in several respects: It brings Maricopa County into compliance with state laws enacted to protect military airports from encroaching development. Those laws were passed to safeguard not only state military installations, but also the health and safety of residents living nearby. It improves Luke’s chances to be chosen as a training base for the next generation of Air Force jets, the F-35 Joint Strike…
- Continue to Page 1 of 3
- 1
- 2
- 3
- >
