Maj. Sam Tucker, grandson of a World War II-era B-17 navigator, recently compiled 1,000 combat flying hours in the backseat of an F-15E Strike Eagle during a sortie over Afghanistan. Tucker, who is a Weapons Systems Officer deployed from the 334th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., to Bagram AB, Afghanistan, has some 2,300 total flying hours in the Strike Eagle. He has deployed to Southwest Asia five times since operations began there in 2001, and he flew during Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. Lt. Col. Eric Trychon, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group deputy commander, said that reaching 1,000 combat hours is “a major career milestone and even a rarer milestone for those in the F-15E community.” (Bagram report by TSgt. John Jung)
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.