An Update on the F-35 Integrated Training Center At Eglin AFB

09/16/2012
2012-09-16 By Robbin Laird During my visit to Eglin AFB on August 24, 2012, I had a chance to continue my ongoing conversation with Deputy Commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, Col. Tomassetti. In previous visits, Tomassetti showed me the plan, then the buildings being constructed, the classrooms being formed,…

The Fifth Generation Experience Updated: “The F-35 is a Situational Awareness Machine”

09/11/2012
2012-09-11 By Robbin Laird When Ed Timperlake and I wrote our piece for Joint Forces Quarterly on the F-35 and the future of power projection, we started with a discussion we had earlier with Lt. Col. Berke during his time at Nellis AFB. Then Lt. Col. Berke was flying the…

An Australian Perspective on the Way Ahead for a Pacific Strategy

09/06/2012
2012-09-06 In a wide-ranging discussion with Air Vice-Marshal (Ret.) John Blackburn, now the Chairman of the influential Australian think tank, the Kokoda Foundation, the key challenges and contributions, which Australia can bring to an evolving Pacific challenge, were highlighted. John Blackburn Biography A key opportunity for getting it right is…

Evolving the Life Support System for the F-35

09/06/2012
By Robbin Laird During my visit to the 33rd Fighter Wing, I had a chance to talk with a couple of the folks involved in shaping the evolution of the life support system. Sargent Baskin and Sargent Velasquez discussed with me the challenge of evolving from the legacy to the…

F-35 Opens the Door to True Cooperation of Forces

08/30/2012
by Col. Chelsea Anderson (Excerpt) August 28, 2012 The potential for cooperation among U.S. armed forces as well as coalition forces all using the F-35 variants is significant. In fact, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force are working on their own F-35 variants and eight other countries have…

Sorties 199 and 200 for the F-35 At Eglin AFB

08/28/2012
2012-08-28 These photos were taken on Friday August 24, 2012 during sorties number 199 and 200.  Major Mike Roundtree flew 199, and Lt. Col. Joseph Bachmann 200. We will publish interviews done with both pilots after their flights in the near future. In a press release from the 33rd Fighter…

A Day in the Life of the F-35 and the Integrated Training Center

08/28/2012
This slideshow provides a view from the F-35 Integrated Training Center of a day in the life of this center. The Joint Strike Fighter is born joint and the training and support approach is rooted in combing service culture with a new approach to joint training. The slideshow has been…