Maintainers from the 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Eglin AFB, Florida, bring out chocks to secure the base’s newly arrived second F-35A Lightning II, Air Force serial number 08-0746, after its delivery flight on 20 July 2011. The pilot, Marine Maj. Joseph Bachmann, is assigned to the 33rd Operations Group at Eglin. As the first of its kind in the Department of Defense, the joint wing is responsible for F-35 A/B/C pilot and maintainer training for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and, in the future, at least eight coalition partners. Initially, fifty-nine aircraft and three flying squadrons, one for each service/aircraft variant, will be established at Eglin.
