Airman 1st Class Michael Wilkins, a crew chief assigned to the 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, prepares to launch an F-35 Lightning II aircraft, number 5079, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, May 22. In addition to the sortie being the 3,000th in an operational F-35 at Hill, it also turned out to be Wilkens’s first solo launch. (U.S. Air Force/Paul Holcomb)