Luke Air Force Base is the F-35 international training hub and the largest training fighter wing in the US with 78 F-16s and 68 F-35s.
The base employees 5,500 active duty, civilians, and reserve.
And while the pilots get the Hollywood treatment, it’s the maintainers that play the pivotal role of keeping the birds in the sky.
Airman First Class William Mulliken, Airman First Class Eric Zimmerman and Senior Airman Justin Burke are part of the 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
“We fix the aircraft, make sure they are flying in perfect condition and make sure they can complete the mission they’ve been assigned," said Airman First Class Mulliken.
Each have their own specialties.
“I’m an Avionic Specialist which means I work on all the onboard computers and wiring between them on the F-35," said Airman First Class Mulliken.
“I’m a crew chief so I handle all the maintenance work that needs to be done on the jet," said Senior Airman Justin Burke.
“My role here is to make sure all the weapon systems are functioning properly on the F-35," said Airman First Class Eric Zimmerman.
Eric gets to drive the MJ1 Jammer, carefully though, because he’s hauling bombs.
“I definitely get nervous especially when we load the bigger bombs which are 2,000 pounds and there’s no room for mistakes," said Airman First Class Zimmerman.
Although separate specialties, they all work together for the best outcome, especially during each launch.
“We all do our checks over the jet, the pilot does his checks for what he can see in the cockpit," said Senior Airman Burke.
“We check the chocks, tires and make sure its ready to roll," said Airman First Class Mulliken.
Then it's time to signal the pilot to fire up the jet and marshal the plane out for take off.
It’s not work when you love what you do.
“It’s something I never expected in life and it’s a whole new chapter in my life and it feels great doing it," said Airman First Class Zimmerman.
“It’s the comradery, the family, the closeness of having all my brothers and sisters around me and getting to come in and work with them every day," said Airman First Class Mulliken.
Just like Maverick, Goose and Iceman, these three have nicknames right?
“Lightning, Thunder and Top Dog. I'm just kidding, we don't do that," said Senior Airman Burke.
No nicknames needed because all the brave men and women serving our country, are called heroes!