Capt. Shannon Lippert, an F-15E pilot with the 336th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., has received the American Fighter Aces Association’s Francis S. Gabreski Award. She is the first female pilot to win the award, which honors the most outstanding performer of the year during a basic course in a formal training unit. Lippert took possession of her award June 27 during a ceremony in Austin, Tex. (Seymour Johnson report by SrA. Shane Dunaway)
In a rare letter to the entire force, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach is telling Airmen to stay ready to support Operation Epic Fury, the massive U.S. operation against Iran.