Colonel Kelly hits 3,000 Strike Eagle flight hours

Col. Mark Kelly, 4th Fighter Wing commander, and Major James Crider, 4th Aeromedical Dental Squadron flight medicine primary care physician, land an F-15E Strike Eagle at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. Oct. 9, 2009. This was Colonel Kelly's 3,000th flight hour in the Strike Eagle. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Brandt Smith)

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Colonel Kelly hits 3,000 Strike Eagle flight hours

Col. Mark Kelly, 4th Fighter Wing commander, poses with his wife Tanya after completing his 3,000th flight hour in the F-15E Strike Eagle at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Oct. 9. The Strike Eagle is one of four aircraft Colonel Kelly has flown since receiving his commission in 1986. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Rae Perry)

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Colonel Kelly hits 3,000 Strike Eagle flight hours

Col. Mark Kelly, 4th Fighter Wing commander, and Maj. James Crider, 4th Aeromedical Dental Squadron flight medicine primary care physician, taxi under fire truck spray at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Oct. 9, 2009. Colonel Kelly has logged more than 5,000 flight hours during his military career, 3,000 of those in the F-15E Strike Eagle. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Rae Perry)

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Colonel Kelly hits 3,000 Strike Eagle flight hours

Published Oct. 15, 2009
By Airman 1st Class Rae Perry
4 FW Public Affairs

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Col. Mark Kelly, 4th Fighter Wing commander, is one of less than 20 pilots in the world to achieve the milestone of 3,000 hours in the F-15E Strike Eagle. He began his flying career immediately after being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force in 1986. Colonel Kelly has flown the F-15E for more than 18 years and of his 3,000 plus flight hours, more than 400 of them have been in combat. In addition to the Strike Eagle, Colonel Kelly has also flown the F/A-18 Hornet while on exchange with the Royal Australian Air Force.