Fond final flight
Col. Chris Valle, 81st Training Wing vice commander for the past two years, is sprayed with champagne by his wife, Mary, and soaked with a fire hose by Brig. Gen. Ian Dickinson, 81st TRW commander, after his final flight as an Air Force pilot in a C-21 May 27. The colonel, an Air Force Academy graduate who retires Sept. 1 with more than 25 years of Air Force service, is a command pilot with more than 4,200 flying hours in the C-141B, C-20A and C-21A. The “fini-flight” tradition of both the U.S. and Royal Australian Air Forces features the hosing to welcome a pilot home from his final flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)