Lt. Col. Rick Stoffel, an instructor pilot assigned to Air Force Reserve Command’s 39th Flying Training Squadron at JBSA-Randolph, Tex., recently surpassed 5,000 flight hours in the T-1A Jayhawk, according to base officials. Accumulating that much flying time in one aircraft type is considered a rare feat, according to a mid-October Randolph release. “This vast experience has made him a top-tier instructor as well as a mentor for incoming instructor pilots,” said Lt. Col. Gavin Marks, commander of Randolph’s 99th FTS. Stoffel’s Reserve unit helps operate the 99th FTS’ T-1s under an association. Although Stoffel began his Air Force career as a KC-10 pilot, he has been teaching pilots in the T-1 for the past 15 years, states the release. “Our Reservists are a backbone of our unit,” said Marks. “You can’t manufacture guys like Rick [Stoffel]; he provides my schoolhouse instant credibility.” (Randolph report by 2nd Lt. Keenan Kunst)
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…