Colonel’s retirement symbolic end of initial F-35A Lightning II era at Hill AFB

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- He played a key role in many firsts for the Air Force’s first combat-coded F-35A Lightning II wing, and last week the 388th Fighter Wing said goodbye to Col. Yosef “Hitman” Morris as he retired from active duty. Morris is the last of the wing's initial F-35A leadership and his time in the 388th Fighter Wing intersected with many historic milestones for the Air Force and the F-35A:

• He was a member of the first cadre of F-35A fighter pilots at Eglin AFB, Fla from 2012-2015
   
• First director of operations for the 34th Fighter Squadron, the first Air Force F-35A squadron stood up in June 2015 
   
• He flew the first combat-coded F-35A from Ft Worth To Hill in Sept. 2015, alongside the wing commander
   
• Director of operations for the first F-35A overseas deployment to the U.K., Estonia and Bulgaria in April 2017
   
• First commander of 4th Fighter Squadron as it transitioned to F-35A operations
   
• Led the Air Force’s first F-35A combat deployment and flew first combat sorties in F-35A in April 2019
   
• Last original active-duty leadership of the 34th FS, F-35A standup to leave the 388th Fighter Wing, March 2022