Instructor pilots at Sheppard AFB, Tex., recently took four T-37 Tweet training aircraft for a final four-ship formation flight to mark the end of the Tweet era at Sheppard. SSgt. Tonnette Thompson reports that the Texas base begins its transition to the new T-6 Texan II next year. The eight IPs in the four-ship have a total of more than 26,530 flying hours in the Tweet. The 141 T-37s at Sheppard are destined for the Boneyard at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. Sheppard will get 75 Texans in their stead.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3