C-17 Pilot Reaches 10,000 Flight Hours

Lt. Col. Stephen Clements, an Air Force Reservist flying C-17s in Southwest Asia with the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, reached his 10,000th flight hour as a military pilot, according to a squadron release. Clements hit the mark on Oct. 20 during a mission redeploying Army Stryker combat vehicles from Afghanistan as part of the US military’s drawdown from there, according to the unit’s Nov. 8 release. “I am very fortunate to have reached 10,000 hours while serving my country and flying in the military,” he said. Clements began flying with the Air Force in 1991; he has piloted C-141s and C-17s. Since 2000, he has been assigned to Air Force Reserve Command’s 313th Airlift Squadron at JB Lewis-McChord, Wash. He has amassed two-thirds of his flight hours since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the release. Clements is set to retire from the Air Force in January. (405th AEG report by Capt. Anthony Santosus)