Lt. Col. Eric Smith, the first Air Force qualified F-35 pilot, Maj. Joseph Bachmann, the first Marine qualified F-35 pilot, and Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, the 58th Fighter Squadron commander, receive an operations brief from Lt. Col. Todd LaFortune before stepping out for the first-ever F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter training sortie March 6 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

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Lt. Col. Eric Smith, the first Air Force qualified F-35 pilot, Maj. Joseph Bachmann, the first Marine qualified F-35 pilot, and Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, the 58th Fighter Squadron commander, receive an operations brief from Lt. Col. Todd LaFortune before stepping out for the first-ever F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter training sortie March 6 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

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Photo credit: © 508 collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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