Colonel surveys Holloman, takes final flight

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Siuta B. Ika
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Col. Robert McCutchen Jr., 56th Fighter Wing special assistant to the commander at Luke AFB, Ariz., visited the base April 19-21 to survey facilities for Holloman's upcoming transition to F-16s and to take his final flight in the Air Force.

Colonel McCutchen toured the hangars, future ramp space areas and squadron buildings where the first F-16 squadron is projected to be housed. In addition, he met with base leadership, visited the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce and met with the Director of the Otero County Development Council to talk about housing expansion plans in the local area.

"The 56th Fighter Wing commander, Brig. Gen. Jerry Harris, asked me to come out to get boots on the ground and take a look at the plans and progress being made here for the bed-down of the F-16s," Colonel McCutchen said. "We sit through a lot of teleconferences and it's hard to picture facilities, so it was nice to go around and take a look at all of the proposed locations."

To make the transition successful, Colonel McCutchen explained the importance of each and every Airman.

"Holloman is not Luke and Luke is not Holloman. The two bases are very different -- different infrastructure, community and airspace," he said. "I feel confident the people here are doing everything they can to prepare for the F-16s. Everywhere I've been, I've seen high quality Airmen and Holloman is no different. The bed-down will be difficult so everyone will have to adapt, but I have confidence in everyone's ability to execute the syllabus and make it happen."

Colonel McCutchen, who has had nine consecutive F-16 assignments, also visited Detachment 1, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron to fulfill a dream he always had.

"I've flown the F-16 for 28 years, so for my final flight in the Air Force, I wanted to do something a little different," the colonel said. "I came up in an Air Force back in the 1980s when the F-4 was the workhorse of our Air Force. I always admired the airplane and thought it was a beautiful, beastly airplane that typified ingenuity. I just had to take my last Air Force flight in one."

Lt. Col. Patrick Karg, Det. 1, 82nd ATRS operations officer, expressed his feelings on Colonel McCutchen's decision to take his 'fini flight' in an F-4.

"This is certainly interesting in that Colonel McCutchen has the third highest hours in the F-16, with over 5,000, and his last sortie in the Air Force was in the F-4, a predecessor to the F-16," he said. "It was an honor that we were able to give him a (familiarization) ride in the F-4 as his last sortie in the Air Force."

Before departing the base, Colonel McCutchen shared one last reflection of his career and his accomplishments.

"It's going to be tough hanging up the uniform and leaving the camaraderie of all the units and people," he said. "I will miss the fantastic memories of over 30 years of service. I resign to that fact when I flew my last F-16 sortie and now my last Air Force fighter sortie ever, so it's time to go."