Silveria Becomes First F-35A Qualified General Officer

Maj. Gen. Jay Silveria, commander of the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB, Nev., is the first general officer to qualify as an F-35A strike fighter pilot. Silveria received his qualification Sept. 26 after landing an F-35A at Eglin AFB, Fla., following a flight that completed the seven-week training program. “His qualification training was seamless,” said Lt. Col. Matt Renbarger, 58th Fighter Squadron commander and Silveria’s trainer. “He met all his requirements on the ground and in the air to be a newly qualified F-35 pilot.” Silveria was chosen to receive the F-35 training due to his position at the Warfare Center, which is responsible for current and future F-35A operational testing, tactics development, and eventual advanced training exercises and weapons school, according to an Air Combat Command release. “The Warfare Center is so involved with the development and future of this aircraft that it was important for me to see and experience this new program at the lowest tactical level” and to bring that experience to higher level discussions, said Silveria, a veteran F-15 pilot. Flying the F-35A was “like seeing into the future,” he said. “I just foresee what a powerful weapon it will be.”