B-1 Pilot Reaches 5,000 Flying Hours

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Lt. Col. Timothy Schepper of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., became the first B-1 pilot to achieve 5,000 flying hours in the bomber type, according to a base release. Schepper reached the milestone on July 15 during a 19-hour mission that originated in Southwest Asia and ended at Ellsworth, states the July 18 release. “It seems like it’s been a long time coming and yet it seemed to happen fairly quickly from my career standpoint,” said Schepper, who accrued those hours—1,300 of which were in combat—over a 22-year period. “This was just another mission and it just happened to get me to that 5,000-hour mark,” he said. Dan Ruder, Boeing’s B-1 advanced program manager, said this achievement was a huge milestone for the B-1 platform and “solidifies how the B-1 is still a critical element” to national security. The B-1 has been deployed in combat for eight consecutive years and has logged nearly 10,000 combat missions, according to Ruder. (Ellsworth report by A1C Hrair H. Palyan)

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