Liberty Warrior only active duty Airman with 4,000 hours in F-15E

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chris Stagner
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --  There are some things in the Air Force that are constants. Security forces Airmen provide security. Logistics Airmen handle logistics. Air traffic control Airmen control air traffic. For Lt. Col. Dave Iverson, 492nd Fighter Squadron commander, that constant has been flying the F-15E Strike Eagle.

He took that constant to the record books recently when he became the only Strike Eagle pilot on active duty with more than 4,000 flying hours on the airframe.

His career in the F-15E started in 1993 when he graduated pilot training and arrived at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. The pilot couldn't comprehend as a student at Luke that he'd one day spend almost half a year of his life in the cockpit of the Strike Eagle.

"At that point I was just trying to learn as much as I could, fly the plane as well as I could and be the best Airman I could," Colonel Iverson said.

He's since spent the last 17 years flying the F-15E, and those hours have ranged from training other pilots to flying combat sorties in operations Northern and Southern Watch, Deny Flight and Enduring Freedom.

The diversity in Colonel Iverson's flying career is mirrored in his career as an Airman.
"Colonel Iverson has made contributions to the F-15 community as a weapons officer, member of the test squadron, a director of operations and a commander," said Col. John Quintas, 48th Operations Group commander. "While 4,000 flying hours in the airframe is impressive, it's not nearly as impressive as the wide-ranging contributions he's made to the Strike Eagle community as an Airman."

Colonel Iverson's passion might be flying, but it's what he accomplishes when he's in the air that brings it home for him.

"It's a very gratifying experience to know you're supporting the guys on the ground," he said. "We help them achieve their objectives, or we help them get into a safe position if their objectives can't be met.

"On the door leaving Life Support (at a base he was assigned to) in Afghanistan, when you step to the jet there's a sign that says, 'Your mission is the 18 year old with the rifle. Don't you ever forget it'. I take that to heart when I think about our role [as Strike Eagle pilots] in supporting the men and women on the ground. It doesn't matter if it's an American or one of our coalition partners, when we fly the Strike Eagle we're there to support the 18 year olds with rifles."

As much as the commander loves that aspect of his job, it's just a part of what makes him love being an Airman even more.

"The flying I've done is just hours," the pilot said. "With our current overseas contingency responsibilities you'll see a lot more people break the 4,000-hour mark. I'm just fortunate to be on the leading edge of it.

"When you first start flying it's your main job. It's still my job, but now I think it's more important to me as a commander that I take care of my people and their families. If I'm taking care of them and enabling them to execute the mission, then we'll always come out on top of our combat operations. I feel fortunate that flying allowed me to do this with the men and women of the 492nd Fighter Squadron."