388th FW commander celebrates final flight

  • Published
  • By Andrea V. Mason
  • 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
On a beautiful summer's day, Col. Scott Long was greeted by his wife, friends, community leaders and members of Team Hill to celebrate his final F-16 flight June 6 before relinquishing command as the 388th Fighter Wing commander.

"What an amazing day," said Long as he celebrated with the group after deplaning. "I'm grateful to have led the wing for the past two years and for the outpour of support today and throughout my command."

The "fini flight" concluded with 388 Airmen from the fighter wing lined up saluting the commander after he taxied through two base fire trucks creating a ceremonial water arch. After deplaning, Long was promptly soaked by members of the awaiting group with two fire extinguishers and a bottle of champagne.

Long became the wing commander in April 2011 and will relinquish command to Col. Lance Landrum June 14.

Following pilot training in 1988, Long was a distinguished graduate from undergraduate pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., and completed F-16 replacement training at Luke AFB, Ariz.

Among his many assignments, some entailed serving as an F-16 weapons officer, instructor pilot, supervisor of flying, mission commander, standardization/evaluation flight examiner, alert pilot and mission director, operations group commander and squadron commander.

Long is a command pilot with more than 2,900 flying hours in the F-16 and served in more than 130 combat sorties in support of Operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom.

Ultimately, Long said that when he departs, he leaves with the knowledge that the 388th FW is even stronger than when he arrived and will continue to thrive in the combat Air Force.

"Leading this wing has been a highlight of my career in the U.S. Air Force. It serves as a critical component of our nation's defense, and I'm privileged to have been commander working along-side the world's finest Airmen for more than two years," he said.

During his command, Long's leadership guided the wing to successfully execute more than 10 ocean crossings and multiple Operation Noble Eagle assignments, two theater security package deployments, one OEF redeployment, readiness evaluations and numerous combat exercises to include Red Flag, weapons system evaluation programs and Combat Shield, Archer and Hammer.

The "fini flight" was just one of several special events marking the end of the colonel's command of the 388th FW. Members of the wing, base and local community will bid him farewell at a dinner in his honor on Tuesday.