Vice commander reaches 2,000 T-38 flying hours

  • Published
  • By Capt. Ken Hall
  • Chief, 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Two thousand hours might not seem like a lot to someone who's never piloted a jet aircraft--until you consider just what it takes to accomplish it.

Laughlin's vice wing commander Col. Laro Clark flew his 2,000th flying hour today. Not overall, mind you, but 2,000 hours in the T-38 alone. He has more than 4,200 hours combined in the T-1, T-6, T-41, T-37, T-38A/C, and F-15A/B/C/D with more than 2,000 in the F-15, and 220 have been in combat.

That still doesn't tell the whole story, though. For fighter pilots, it's much tougher to rack up hours because their flights, or 'sorties' in pilot parlance, are usually of much shorter duration than air mobility pilots of aircraft such as the C-17 Globemaster III who sometimes fly half a world away in a single mission. In order for Colonel Clark to reach 2,000 T-38 flying hours, he literally had to climb in and out of the aircraft 2,000 times because these sorties last only about an hour.

"In today's Air Force, you just don't see many fighter pilots reach 2,000 hours in two different aircraft [T-38 and F-15, each]," said Lt. Col. Dean Lee who commands the 87th Flying Training Squadron's Red Bulls. The 87th conducts the final phase of specialized undergraduate pilot training here at Laughlin turning out pilots who will continue on in the fighter/bomber track. "It was a great event for the Red Bulls to be able to host Colonel Clark's 2,000th T-38 hour of flight."

In 2007, Laughlin graduated 346 of the world's best-trained pilots. "I think the best thing about today's flight was the great message it sent to our young officers in training because it gives them a goal to shoot for in their own careers," said Colonel Lee. "We're blessed to have as great a role model in Colonel Clark right here among us as we do--congrats to Colonel Clark for this great milestone!"

A humble man, the only quote that could be cajoled from Colonel Clark was how extremely fortunate he feels to serve in the world's greatest Air Force and to have the opportunity to reach today's milestone.

Proud of her husband's accomplishments, the colonel's wife had a few words. "I'm extremely proud of him for what he's been able to do in his career," Mrs. Susan Clark said, "and I know he considers himself very lucky man to be able to fly and serve in our military."

The colonel will deploy in January in support of the Global War on Terror.