Maj. Sam Tucker, grandson of a World War II-era B-17 navigator, recently compiled 1,000 combat flying hours in the backseat of an F-15E Strike Eagle during a sortie over Afghanistan. Tucker, who is a Weapons Systems Officer deployed from the 334th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., to Bagram AB, Afghanistan, has some 2,300 total flying hours in the Strike Eagle. He has deployed to Southwest Asia five times since operations began there in 2001, and he flew during Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. Lt. Col. Eric Trychon, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group deputy commander, said that reaching 1,000 combat hours is “a major career milestone and even a rarer milestone for those in the F-15E community.” (Bagram report by TSgt. John Jung)
For the Air Force and Space Force, an influx of additional resources could be an opportunity to accelerate a massive modernization portfolio and ramp up aircraft and satellite production, defense analysts and former officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
