The PACAF F-16 Demo Team is happy to announce its newest pilot! Maj. Josiah “Sirius” Gaffney
U.S. Air Force Maj. Josiah Gaffney, the Pacific Air Forces’ F-16 Fighting Falcon Demonstration Team pilot, pauses for a photo prior to a certification flight at Misawa Air Base, Japan, April 30, 2020. Following 15 minutes of high-speed passes and high-flying maneuvers, Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, 5th Air Force commander, certified Gaffney and his team of safety observers and maintainers on behalf of Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., PACAF commander. Gaffney joined the Air Force in 2005 as a cadet at the Air Force Academy and commissioned in 2009. He remembers watching the Thunderbirds fly at an airshow when he was 10 years old and realizing then that flying airplanes, and fighters specifically, was what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to execute the PACAF F-16 Demonstration Team’s mission – to showcase U.S. air combat capability and the dedication of the Airmen who make that capability possible, thereby inspiring strengthened relationships and goodwill with our friends and security partners throughout the Pacific region,” Gaffney said. “The ongoing pandemic has obviously prevented us from performing quite a few airshows this year, but we are still hard at work practicing, preparing, and looking forward to the day when we can once again put on a great show at an airfield near you! I can’t wait!”
Source and photos: www.misawa.af.mil
