F-35 training wing commander fired - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

F-35 training wing commander fired

The commander of the wing in charge of F-35 training was relieved of command Thursday following an investigation into personal misconduct.

Air Force Col. David Hlatky of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., lost his job following a command-directed investigation. Air Education and Training Command said in a release it couldn’t provide more information because of the administrative nature of the investigation, but spokesman David Smith said the move had nothing to do with the Joint Strike Fighter program.

Hlatky will remain at Eglin pending reassignment.

Maj. Gen. Mark Solo, the commander of 19th Air Force, lost confidence in Hlatky’s ability to command the high-profile wing, which will train pilots and maintainers for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps models of the Joint Strike Fighter.

Neither Hlatky nor Solo responded to Air Force Times emails seeking comment.

Col. Andrew Toth has assumed command of the wing. Toth previously served as the executive officer to the commander of Air Combat Command. He also commanded the 60th Fighter Squadron at Eglin when it was an F-15 unit that flew air superiority missions.

Hlatky is a command pilot with more than 2,600 flight hours, mostly in an F-16C. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1989 and took command of the 33rd Fighter Wing in October 2009, when the unit stopped operating the F-15 and became the military’s first JSF training wing. He previously commanded the 388th Operations Support Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. He took command of the 33rd Fighter Wing after a yearlong deployment to Iraq as the deputy chair of the Public Finance Management Action Group.

Hlatky received praise as he took command of the 33rd Fighter Wing 17 months ago from then-commander of 19th Air Force, Maj. Gen. Gregory Feest.

“Colonel Hlatky has demonstrated both the leadership and aeronautical skill needed to establish the 33rd Fighter Wing as the premier joint strike fighter wing, responsible for training F-35 instructors and pilots for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coalition,” Feest said in a news release then. “I have no doubt he and the 33rd will excel in producing our military’s next generation of front-line aviators.”

The 33rd Fighter Wing operates four F-16s on loan from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., because repeated production delays have prevented the delivery of F-35s to Eglin. About 900 personnel are assigned to the wing, which is expected to employ more than 2,000 service members when it reaches full strength in 2014.