NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas -- Lt. Col. Bryan Bailey, a B-52 pilot for the 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La., received a surprise F-16 Fighting Falcon incentive flight flying with U.S. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. David Efferson, commander of the 457th Fighter Squadron, at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, on Oct. 23, 2015.
Bailey's father, Major John Bailey, was a pilot with the 457th when he and his navigator, Major Robert Pitchford, died after an F-4 aircraft crash near Carswell AFB, Texas, in 1987.
Besides the flight to honor Lt. Col. Bailey's commitment to service following in his dad's footsteps, the “Spads” of the 457th gathered to honor the memory of two of their fallen comrades and to recognize the five children of Bailey and Pitchford.