Coming out of the week-long meeting of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program steering committee Sept. 25 at Sheppard AFB, Tex., Italian air force Brig. Gen. Franco Marsiglia, committee chairman, said the program is in good heath because all the countries have chosen to continue their participation. In fact, he said, the Belgian air force will re-enter the ENJJPT program in October 2010 because it recognizes its value. Col. Kevin Schneider, commander of Sheppard’s 80th FTW, said the ENJJPT program is doing extremely well after recently completing the transition earlier this year from the T-37 to the T-6 trainer aircraft. “We are also seeing the results of a new syllabus,” he said. But the quality of graduates is the program’s true “report card,” he continued, and in that regard, “we are doing very, very well.” (Sheppard report by A1C Candy Miller)
Seven F-22 Raptor pilots have recently been awarded one of the military’s highest decorations for their actions during operations in the Middle East. Six of the pilots were decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.