Raptors come to roost

An F-22 crew chief marshals a Raptor out of its parking spot on the base's flightline Friday morning. The aircraft are assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., which serves as the Air Force's sole school house for the next-generation fighter. Photo by Brian S. Orban

A dozen of the nation's next-generation fighters and more than a hundred maintenance specialists and rookie pilots arrived at Mountain Home Air Force Base earlier this month to start their next phase of air combat training.

Assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., the visiting F-22 Raptor pilots came here to focus on "dissimilar training" -- flying with and against different types of aircraft.

The Florida-based training squadron is home to the Air Force's sole F-22 Raptor school house -- the place where pilots "cut their teeth" on the Air Force's single-seat, fifth-generation fighter.

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