What's unique about the F-35 isn't just one thing, especially when you compare it to like an F-15 or older generation aircraft like the Phantom. He became the first operational pilot ever to fly and be qualified in the F-35B, serving as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron from 2012-2014.īerke earned his master’s degree in International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies with a concentration in Strategic Studies and is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

He was the only Marine selected to fly the F-22 Raptor having served as an exchange officer at the Air Force’s 422 nd Test and Evaluation Squadron as the Division Commander. He then served as an ANGLICO Forward Air Controller supporting the Army’s 1 st Armored Division during extensive urban combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006. He spent three years as an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN where he was dual qualified in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and served as the Training Officer, the senior staff pilot responsible for the conduct of the TOPGUN course. As a F/A-18 pilot, he deployed twice from the USS John C Stennis in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How fast does the f 22 raptor go