Joining an elite group of 10 F-16 fighter pilots who have broken the 4,000 flying-hour mark in a Viper is Col. William Binger, deputy commander of the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group, Balad AB, Iraq.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.