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HILL AIR FORCE BASE — In a celebration of Independence Day pilots from the Air Force Reserve 419th Fighter Wing and active-duty 388th Fighter Wing will fly over 12 Utah cities on July 3 from 9-11 a.m., Hill Air Force Base officials say.
The 33-year-old holiday tradition is celebrated by pilots and F-35 maintainers alike.
"We never have trouble getting Airmen to come in on their holiday weekend to work these flyovers," Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Hartman, 419th Maintenance Group superintendent in a news release. "They understand the patriotism of it all, so there's a lot of enthusiasm for this event."
Among those Airmen is Maj. Michael Oldenborg, a pilot with the 466th Fighter Squadron. Oldenborg will be leading the Reserve pilots from the 466th FS in the morning flyover.
"It's a real honor to fly this aircraft over Utah," Oldenborg said in the release. "We look forward to flying over the Salt Lake Valley in support of the celebration of America, and we're proud to represent the Air Force Reserve."
Pilots accompanying Oldendog in the morning flyovers include Maj. Kyle Crosby, Maj. Casey Smergut and Maj. Justin Cleveland.
The four pilots will fly four F-35A Lightning II jets in formation over the following cities: Clearfield, Henefer, Millcreek, Morgan, Murray, North Salt Lake, Park City, Riverton, Salt Lake City, Vernal, West Jordan and West Point.
An evening flyover will be flown by Capt. Kenneth Skelton and Capt. Brendan Moran from the 34th Fighter Squadron over the Stadium of Fire event in Provo. The event is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary following last year's festivities being postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
But to Chief Master Sgt. Ben Carson, 388th MXG superintendent, seeing in the jets in the air every Independence Day is more than a patriotic tradition.
"I want the community to know they can be confident that we're here for them and always will be," Carson said in the release. "Our job is to keep these jets flying, and we're prepared to do that anytime, anywhere."
