Col. Kurt Gallegos, the operations group commander for the 301st Fighter Wing, the Air Force Reserve Command unit at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas, became the latest F-16 pilot to record 4,000 flight hours during a sortie on 8 August 2012. Gallegos first flew an F-16 Fighting Falcon in July 1991 and reached the 1,000 flight hour mark in October 1995. He reached 2,000 hours in 2001 and recorded his 3,000 flight hour in 2006. Other career milestones include flying the five millionth F-16 fleet hour worldwide on 4 December 1996 and being the first F-16 pilot to drop bombs in Afghanistan after 11 September 2001. Gallegos is the thirty-sixth F-16 pilot to reach 4,000 hours.
