U.S. MARINES STAND UP THEIR F-35 TRAINING SQUADRON AT EGLIN AFB

Okay folks, if you had any doubt about the F-35 Training Squadron coming to Eglin AFB, I think you need to rethink your position. As noted below, this is a significant move and has not been done without some thought and more importantly, MONEY. Literally, hundreds of thousands of military construction dollars in the works NOW!!! With this move and the movement of the Army 7th Special Forces at this time, we will see a run on our real estate market. Stay tuned, I will be having a representative from the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron giving a presentation to my NWF Military Officer's Association in June of this year. If you are a retired, active duty, or former military officer, you are invited to attend and become a member.


by Samuel King Jr.96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs4/5/2010 -
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- The first-ever Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter training squadron, the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, stood up April 2 here.The significance of the occasion was not just for the new F-35 unit, but also it marked the first time a Marine Corps squadron was embedded in an Air Force wing."And they couldn't have picked a better place to start," said Lt. Col. James Wellon, the VMFAT-501 commander, referring to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base.The squadron was redesignated from the VMFAT-451, a 13-year retired squadron that was reactivated April 1 for the ceremony."This is truly a historic event," said Maj. Gen. James F. Flock, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing commander. "It has taken a lot of hard work to move toward joint-basing. It's been a genuine grassroots effort here at Eglin (AFB) to make joint-basing a possibility."This is the next chapter in the future of Marine aviation toward the "direction of an all-short take off and vertical landing force," the general said. The ceremony took place with the three current Marine aircraft, the AV-8B Harrier, F/A-18 Hornet and the EA-6B Prowler in the distance.The Marine F-35 variant will be equipped with the STOVL ability. Just two weeks prior to the stand up, the first vertical landing of the F-35B STOVL took place March 18.The joint strike fighter mission rested on the shoulders of the 37 "hard-charging" Marines currently assigned to the unit who are tasked with training the future pilots and maintainers, the general said. According to Marine officials, the VMFAT-501 is scheduled to receive its first F-35B in the winter of 2010. Training of instructor pilots will follow. The Marines hope to have eight initial cadre and two operational test pilots trained within a year.