Second generation Air Force pilot flies with his father’s squadron

U.S. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. David Efferson (left), commander of the 457th Fighter Squadron at Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, and Lt. Col. Bryan Bailey (right), 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La., prepare for a flight in an F-16 Fighting Falcon on Oct. 23, 2015. The members of his father’s squadron, the 457th “Spads,” honored Bailey, who followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming an Air Force pilot, with a surprise incentive ride. Bailey’s father, Maj. John Bailey died in an F-4 aircraft crash near Carswell AFB, Texas, in 1987. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Laura Siebert/Released)

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Second generation Air Force pilot flies with his father’s squadron

The “Spads” of the 457th Fighter Squadron at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, gather for a reunion on Oct. 23, 2015 to honor the memory of two of their fallen comrades, Majors John Bailey and Robert Pitchford. Bailey and Pitchford died in an F-4 crash in 1987 at Lake Worth, Texas. The “Spads” gathered to meet with the children of Bailey and Pitchford. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Laura Siebert/Released)

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Second generation Air Force pilot flies with his father’s squadron

U.S. Air Force Col. Bruce Cox, commander of the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base in La., presents Christina Tindel and Adam Pitchford with a picture in memoriam to their father, Maj. Robert W. Pitchford on behalf of the 457th Fighter Squadron “Spads,” on Oct. 23, 2015 at Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. Maj. Pitchford was assigned to the 457th Fighter Squadron when he died in an aircraft crash near Carswell AFB, Texas. The “Spads” have a memorial of Robert W. Pitchford in their building. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Laura Siebert/Released)

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Second generation Air Force pilot flies with his father’s squadron

U.S. Air Force Col. Bruce Cox (right), commander of the 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La., presents Lt. Col. Brian Bailey (center) and his sister Beth (left) with a picture in memory of their father, Maj. John “Trapper” Bailey on behalf of the 457th Fighter Squadron “Spads,” at Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 23, 2015. John Bailey was an F-4 pilot assigned to the 457th Fighter Squadron when he died in an aircraft crash near Carswell AFB, Texas in 1987. The “Spads” have a memorial of John Bailey in their building. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Laura Siebert/Released)

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Second generation Air Force pilot flies with his father’s squadron

Published Nov. 2, 2015
By Master Sgt. Laura Siebert

U.S. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. David Efferson (left), commander of the 457th Fighter Squadron at Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, and Lt. Col. Bryan Bailey (right), 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La., prepare for a flight in an F-16 Fighting Falcon on Oct. 23, 2015. The members of his father’s squadron, the 457th “Spads,” honored Bailey, who followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming an Air Force pilot, with a surprise incentive ride. Bailey’s father, Maj. John Bailey died in an F-4 aircraft crash near Carswell AFB, Texas, in 1987. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Laura Siebert/Released)