Wow...what can I say! It feels awesome to have all the hard work over the past year pay off in getting my first choice out of pilot training. Honestly, it all the praise goes to God...He's blessed me too much!! I think this week has been the longest week I've ever been through. The nerves, excitement and being anxious about assignment night have all contributed to restless nights of sleep and a brain that just wouldn't shut off! Now I can finally tell people what I'll be doing next and where I'll be going after graduation. I was asked a ton over Christmas, "So, where are you going after this?" All I said was, "I'll get back to you on January 7th." F-16 training will be at Luke AFB in Phoenix, AZ, which should be a pretty cool place to live...better than Columbus, MS!! As of now I don't have my dates for Intro to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) at Moody AFB, GA, but the guys that have graduated just ahead of us have said they've been waiting 4-5 months to get there. IFF is a course in teaching basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) in the T-38C with bigger engines. It's 2 months long, and has around 20 flights total. So, in the meantime I'll be going back to the centrifuge for the F-16 profile and complete some other training. I have survival training, both land and water, as well as resistance training...some fun, some not so fun. But hey, it's worth it! From what I've heard from IP's that have flown the F-16, it's going to be an awesome time. Of course, flying any fighter for the most part is sweet, but to be flying my #1 choice out of pilot training is going to be awesome! For me it came down the mission, with location being second. The F-16 is a multi-role fighter, so it'll give me a chance to do different things. It has both air-to-air and air-to-ground capability, which is cool because I'm a person who tends to get bored doing the same thing over and over again. I can dogfight one day and drop bombs the next. Also, I wanted to be able to use all the training I've been getting in war if the country needs me. It's been awhile since we've gone air-to-air with any country...we may in the future, but at least I'll be able to blow stuff up in the Falcon (a.k.a Viper). As far as locations are concerned, there are both good and bad. But, I've decided even if I end up in one of the "bad" spots, I'll still be flying an awesome jet and I'll make the most of my surroundings!
Assignment night is very similar to track select at the end of T-37s. It takes place in the O-club on base here and is set up where each individual student gets call up in front one at a time to get their assignment...we probably had about 400-500 people there. After you're made fun of and joked on a bit, the screen behind you shows the next jet you'll be flying. I can't even explain the feeling inside when I saw the F-16! My classmates rushed the stage to congratulate me, and then it was on to the next person. What a great time, and a day I'll never forget!
Over the past few weeks we finished up with our 4-ship formation flying, which by far has been the most fun...just slightly above low level flying. Being up there in formation with three other jets around you is awesome. Our 4-ship flights in the T-38 were just to get us familiar with what we'd be doing a lot more of in our follow on jet, and as with most things dealing with flying I'm looking forward to it!All that's left for me is five flights and then graduation on the 21st. It's been an awesome year of flying and an awesome year of rewarding work...God is good!
