DVIDS – News – 95th FS reaches 1,000 flight hours

In a triumphant display of endurance and precision, the 95th Fighter Squadron achieved a momentous milestone on May 14, 2024, when the unit completed 1,000 flight hours in the F-35A Lightning II.

The squadron, which stood up in June 2023 and received its first aircraft in August, hoped to reach the milestone within ten months but completed the goal six weeks ahead of schedule, demonstrating the unit’s commitment to achieving the objectives of the National Defense Strategy achieve and remain competitive in the Great Power Contest.

“It’s a great compliment to the team that we were able to reach 1,000 hours at a faster pace than we thought we could,” said Lt. Col. Michael “CAIN” Powell, 95th FS commander. “We’ve kept the jets healthy through a solid maintenance team… and the logistics side, to keep the supply chain open… and our operations support the squadron that helps us gain airspace. We are doing very well as a team.”

The 325th Fighter Wing’s mission has been adjusted in recent years due to the devastation of Hurricane Michael. While the natural disaster allowed leaders to reimagine what a military installation could look like, it paved the way to now bring in new resources, personnel and capabilities.

“If you look into the future three or four years from now, it won’t just be a few aircraft on the apron; it’s going to be 70-plus aircraft and huge squadrons of fighters … sending out squadrons of people from the maintenance side and the operations side on a regular basis,” Powell said. “The biggest transition (I’ve seen here) is a base that’s just gone through training and base rehab, to now actually being ready for a massive combat center; a base that is beginning to open their eyes and understand this new mission.”

With just a handful of aircraft, the 95th Fighter Generation Squadron ensured the F-35s could get in the air and fly missions whenever possible, while also providing the necessary training for maintenance and finding innovative solutions with the 325th Logistics Readiness Squadron to source parts acquired when necessary. The lack of aircraft was not a barrier for any unit, demonstrating how committed Team Tyndall is to its new combat-coded mission. Powell also noted that all of these factors made possible the originally planned increase of approximately 35% in flights.

The number of flights and available flying hours allows for more training and ensures that the unit can achieve goals ahead of schedule. Participation in exercises like Checkered Flag and off-station joint training, such as those recently completed in Wisconsin, are all requirements the unit must meet.

“There is a very specific set of learning objectives for each mission,” explained Maj. Jarrod Dillon, 95th FS director of operations. “When we talk about what’s really important, it’s that we give the guys the mission training they need to be effective in combat. The (team) receives high-level combat training with a very limited set of resources.

Re-optimizing the base provides a unique opportunity for the total-force team as they chart a new path with best-in-class aircraft, buildings and processes, Powell pointed out. He noted that the change allows for careful consideration and improvement of existing practices, rather than simply following established routines.

“We actually have the luxury of looking around and seeing the different ways (processes) are being done and then saying, ‘We want to do it that way’ or ‘We want to change something,’” Powell said. “We take all of this input and lessons learned so that we create a process or method that is informed in such a way that when it is repeated with the second fighter (and maintenance) squadron here, and the third squadron, that it is better than the last one we started with.”

This milestone is one of many goals accomplished as the 325th FW continues to build F-35 operations and transition into an easily deployable wing. Until then, the base is ramping up its capabilities to generate readiness and develop people and capabilities faster and faster than before.

“We fly our jets at 100 percent occupancy every day,” Dillon said. “We don’t have a full contingent (of aircraft), so we’re flying a significantly different flow pattern than a normal combat air force unit would fly. What (maintenance) has delivered in terms of the number of missions to be completed per month has exceeded expectations.”