Reservist Hits Fighter Pilot Jackpot

Reservist Hits Fighter Pilot Jackpot: Air Force Reserve Command has selected the first pilot from its ranks to train to fly the F-22A Raptor, the Air Force’s new stealth fighter. Maj. Randall Cason, an F-16 pilot, serving with 10th Air Force at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., now will complete three months of ground- and air-based training before moving into the F-22. By the end of August, he should go to the 43rd Fighter Training Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Cason spent 11 years on active duty, including two deployments patrolling no-fly zones over Iraq and a stint at Nellis AFB, Nev., as an “aggressor” pilot, during which he flew the F-16 against developmental F-22s. Cason says, “Fighting an F-22 is like being blindfolded and trying to hit a pin.”