100 Pilots (and 1,000+ Maintainers) Qualified

 The 33rd Fighter Wing, the F-35 Lightning II training unit at Eglin AFB, Florida, reached a milestone on 21 March 2014, as a class of six pilots from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) completed the sequence of F-35B academics and training flights, bringing the number of pilots qualified by the base to 100. These pilots join the 1,082 F-35 maintainers who have been trained at Eglin. As the lead F-35 training location, Eglin Air Force Base has qualified pilots and maintainers from the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, the U.K. and the Netherlands. The three F-35 flying training squadrons at Eglin have flown more than 4,100 since training began in 2011.