The 435th Fighter Training Squadron and the 12th Maintenance Group at the U.S. Air Force Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas recently used the base’s corrosion control shop to blend a throwback paint scheme with a legacy reunion to celebrate historic missions.
When the 435th was reactivated after the Vietnam War on Jan. 1, 1977 at Holloman Air Force Base (Alamogordo, New Mexico), its mission was to teach new fighter pilots basic maneuvers in what was then called lead-in-fighter training (LIFT). On Jan. 20, 2017, dozens of LIFT alumni and current squadron members reunited at the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph (JBSA-Randolph) in Texas.
The Air Force enlisted workers at the corrosion control shop to change the color scheme of the 435th’s flagship from today’s two-toned gray to the heritage blue tricolor of LIFT’s AT-38B talons. That color scheme, known as “Smurf Jet,” was phased out in the late 1990s. Daniel Rodriguez, supervisor at the corrosion control shop, says 10 employees spent ~300 working hours on the makeover.
“Our heritage is bigger than all of us, and it’s the reason people want to be in the Air Force,” says Lt. Col. Jason Earley, 435th Fighter Training Squadron commander. “The team over at maintenance did a fantastic job.”
According to Daniel Rodriguez, corrosion control shop supervisor for the 12th Maintenance Group, the “heritage blue” pattern recalls the early days of the program.
“The most rewarding part of our job is the challenge of painting a new camouflage paint scheme,” Rodriguez says.
For more information, view the U.S. Air Force’s photo gallery of the project.