US Air Force Col. Lenny Dick, vice commander of the Air National Guard-Air Force Reserve Command Test Center at Tucson International Airport, Arizona, became the fourth pilot worldwide to record 5,000 flight hours in the F-16 during a flight on 9 May 2011. His milestone mission was a test flight for Software Capability Upgrade 8, the new software designed to improve Guard and Reserve F-16 warfighting capabilities. Dick, a Reservist, began flying the F-16 in 1984. Over the course of twelve deployments, Dick has spent more than a third of his career in the Middle East. He amassed more than 300 F-16 combat flying hours in Operations Desert Storm, Deny Flight, Northern Watch, Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom.
