An F-35A Lightning II, assigned to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, takes off. (U.S. Air Force photo by Anthony Pham)

419th Fighter Wing News

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  • Rumor has it: Santa to visit 419th Fighter Wing

    Sources from the North Pole say that Santa Claus will visit the 419th Fighter Wing during the December drill weekend.St. Nick will arrive via F-16 at Hangar 37 for the annual children's Christmas party Dec. 6.The party begins at 1 p.m. and includes refreshments. Rumor has it that Santa's helpers are

  • Meet the commander: Q&A with Col. David Smith

    Earlier this month, Col. David Smith took command of the 419th Fighter Wing, bringing along with him his wife, Stacey, and their two daughters. Smith graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1992 and joined the Air Force Reserve in 2002, and has served both full time and part time as a reservist.

  • Reservists team up with Utah Jazz for service project

    Reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing joined NBA Utah Jazz players, Orbital ATK executives, and other military personnel at the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City Nov. 6 to sort food, pack backpacks, and serve lunch to local children in honor of Veterans Day.The service project is part of the NBA and

  • Tops in Blue to perform in Ogden Nov. 20

    The Air Force's expeditionary entertainers, Tops in Blue, will hold a one-night-only performance at the Peery's Egyptian Theater in Ogden at 7 p.m. Nov. 20.The 90-minute program features "family friendly" entertainment as Air Force men and women show off their singing and dancing talents. Doors open

  • AMXS welcomes new commander

    Maj. Frank Bonnin assumed command of the 419th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron during a ceremony here Nov. 8.Bonnin began his career in 1991 and received his commission in 2004 through the Deserving Airman Commissioning Program. Before assuming command of the AMXS, he was an operations officer for the

  • Smith takes command of 419th Fighter Wing

    The 419th Fighter Wing welcomed a new commander during a formal ceremony here today.Col. David Smith assumed command of nearly 1,100 people assigned to the Air Force Reserve unit, which includes operations, maintenance, mission support, and medical personnel."I'm so humbled to stand before these

  • 419th reservists support ground troops in Afghanistan

    About 400 Airmen from Hill Air Force Base are currently serving on a six-month deployment to Afghanistan to carry out F-16 operations.Nearly 70 reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing and their active-duty counterparts in the 388th Fighter Wing arrived at Bagram Airfield Oct. 28 in support of

  • Hill's Total Force team welcomes F-35

    The 388th Fighter Wing and 419th Fighter Wing formally welcomed the arrival of the F-35 Lightning II during a ceremony here today.The event was hosted by Lockheed Martin, the aerospace company that designed and produced the aircraft, to mark the beginning of F-35 operations at the active duty 388th

  • 419th FSS takes home Defender's Cup trophy

    The "Misfits," a four-man team from the 419th Force Support Squadron, took home the Defender's Cup trophy following an upset victory over nine other teams that competed in the annual combat skills challenge Oct. 4. View the slideshow."Never underestimate the FSS," said Lt. Col. Jennifer Fiederer,

  • Utah governor gets pilot's view of F-35

    Gov. Gary Herbert had a chance to "fly" the F-35 Lightning II at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City Oct. 7. During his time in the cockpit, the governor got a feel for the fifth-generation fighter, which arrived at Hill Air Force Base last month.The university is hosting the Lockheed Martin