Fighting Falcons arrive at Holloman

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Emily Kenney
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, NEW MEXICO --  Twelve F-16 Fighting Falcons arrived at Holloman Air Force Base on June 16 as part of the 314th Fighter Squadron stand up scheduled for July 14. They arrived from Luke AFB where they made up the 308th Fighter Squadron, which inactivated June 12.

The arrival of these aircraft not only signifies the new beginning for the 314th FS, but also a continuation in training the world's best fighter pilots at Holloman.

"The 314th is a tenant unit from Luke," said Lt. Col. Heath Wimberly, 314th FS director of operations. "As the 308th FS at Luke graduated their most recent class, they've begun their inactivation. However, we still need to train F-16 pilots, so we moved that aircraft here to continue to be able to accomplish the flying training mission."

However smooth the transition to Holloman was, Wimberly said the move has been in the works since January and thousands of man-hours went into making it happen.

"We found out the 314th stand up was in July and we started working on it," Wimberly said. "We begin class the day after we stand up, so we knew we had to get to work."

On July 15, the day after the stand up, the 314th will begin training instructor pilots.
"We have 10 pilots here that are just waiting to be trained to become instructor pilots," said Wimberly. "Some of them already have experience as instructors, so we just need to refresh them. It should take between a few weeks and about four months to have them all trained and ready to go."

Shortly after the instructor pilots have finished their training, the 314th will begin training student pilots.

Wimberly said as the 314th stands up, the 314th Aircraft Maintenance Unit is also standing up, bringing hundreds of new Airmen to Holloman.

"We couldn't do what we do without these Airmen," he said. "Without them, our jets would only fly for a day. They're the ones out there sweating in the hot sun and getting the mission done, without having the actual luxuries of flying the jets. I look forward to having these new Airmen here at Holloman working on our jets and helping us train the world's best fighter pilots."

The 314th and its sister units will share the airspace with aircrews training in the MQ-1B Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft.

Holloman has been training pilots for specific roles since the early days of the base. Due to the existing facilities with the departure of the F-117 Nighthawk and F-22 Raptor,

Holloman was the logical choice for the F-16 training program. Holloman's flexibility to support fighter aircraft is inherent due to the abundant air space, superb flying weather and strong ties with the communities.

"The proud tradition of training America's most elite pilots at Holloman has deep roots dating back to World War II. Team Holloman welcomes the F-16s and the men and women of the 314th. The arrival of these 12 F-16s from Luke Air Force Base marks another historic moment for Holloman, Alamogordo and the Tularosa Basin."