A Final Ceremony for All:

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

The commander of the 389th Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Lt. Col. Phillip Hoover, did fly the last flight in his lead F-16CJ, ceremonially marking the end of the unit’s role as a Viper squadron. The ceremony didn’t end there, though. The lead Viper’s dedicated crew chief, SSgt. David Lang, passed his dated chocks to the “new” guy, represented by SrA. Jaime Montano, who will maintain the unit’s next fighter, the F-15E. About 40 of the 107 maintainers with the 389th Aircraft Maintenance Unit will remain at Mountain Home and retrain into F-15 maintenance, reports journalist MSgt. Brian Orban. Eventually, Mountain Home’s 366th Fighter Wing will shed its F-15Cs as well as the F-16s, becoming an all F-15E Strike Eagle unit by 2011.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org