F-35 program maturing at Eglin

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.-- Since pilots started flying the F-35 here two years ago, progress has been slow but steady.

Now the training program for the military's newest fighter jet is ramping up, and soon operations will start looking just like any other military flight training program in the country -- albeit a diverse one.

The Air Force, Navy and Marines as well as Dutch and United Kingdom forces are training to fly and maintain the aircraft at Eglin.

"We've kind of normalized operations and we're getting back to more standard Department of Defense flying practices for all three squadrons here," said Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Smith, commander of the 33rd Operations and Support Squadron at Eglin. "I'm extremely honored and privileged to have been here since Day One of flying and seen all the fruits and labors of everyone's hard work."

Starting next month, the first class of Air Force cadets straight out of basic training should start coming through the maintenance school at Eglin.

The Marines already have students straight out of basic.

Until recently, only experienced maintainers had entered the program.

The new recruits will bring a younger, fresher population to the 33rd, and will be a big step toward the base's future goals as a training center.

While pilots will continue to train at Eglin --officials expect capacity to be about 100 pilots a year -- the schoolhouse will become the "center of the universe" for maintenance training, as the F-35 program's executive officer has said.

Eglin will be the sole maintenance training facility for all branches and partner nations, Smith said. The program expects to graduate about 2,000 maintainers a year.

He said the facilities are in place to manage the new load of students. About 950 are expected to go through the course this year, double that of 2013.

As the program continues to ramp up, improvements will be added as needed, Smith said.

In other changes, the Marines squadron at Eglin is set to begin moving to Marines Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina in June.

Of the about 1,800 F-35 personnel at Eglin, about 140 are with the Marines squadron, VMFAT-501. The entire squadron should be moved to Beaufort by next January.

The Marines will take their 14 F-35B models with them.

Currently, Eglin has 43 aircraft. Some may be leaving during the shifts.

The base can house up to 59 F-35s, Smith said.

The international partners also will be moving to other bases. The U.K will go with the Marines squadron and the Dutch are headed for Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, which is working to stand up the Air Force's first operational squadron.