Maj. Jay Spohn, an Air National Guardsman assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, became the first Guard pilot to qualify in the F-35 Lightning II on 3 August 2012. Spohn completed six qualification flights and is now approved to teach other F-35A pilots as an instructor pilot. He was selected in November of 2009 to join the initial F-35A cadre. He helped pave the way for student pilots by developing the syllabus for flight training. Spohn serves as the assistant director of operations for the 58th Fighter Squadron and the chief of standardization and evaluation for the 33rd Operations Group at Eglin.
