Colonel Mario Campos, USAF, Ret. (at left), Flight Captain of the El Paso Daedalian Flight 24, wrote the following story:

A cadre of long-time FASF enthusiasts, all members of the El Paso, TX Daedalian Flight, traveled to Holloman AFB, NM to participate in the graduation of 14 new F-16 “Viper” Fighter Pilots.  All the graduates were members of the 314th Fighter Squadron.

On the 28th of September 2024, the F-16 B Course, Class 23-EBH, held its graduation ceremony off-base at the Alamogordo, NM Elk’s Lodge.  As with several previous HAFB graduations, a highly popular and honored local guest speaker was invited to share his historic war story involving a major rescue effort within “Operation Deny Flight,” during the NATO intervention in Bosnia & Herzegovina between 1993 – 1995.

The inspirational speaker, Maj “T.O.” Hanford, USAF (RET), is a civilian contractor at Holloman, working as an F-16 Instructor and Subject-Matter Expert at the Air Base. “T.O.” told the graduating class a story that never gets old. Maj Hanford gave a detailed account of the critical role he and others played on 7-8 June 1995 in rescuing Capt O’Grady. “T.O” recalled that others seemed to have given up after a week of looking for Capt O’Grady following his being shot down in his F-16 by Serbian surface-to-air missiles. Maj Hanford’s insistence to stay on station longer on a routine CAP (“Combat Air Patrol”) sortie, in addition to ensuring he had the right rescue frequency and code familiar to Capt O’Grady helped him finally hear O’Grady’s call for help.

Maj Hanford outlined how he had to coordinate the rescue with numerous NATO aircraft and leaders while fighting to ensure O’Grady would be rescued sooner than later due to the surrounding threat. His riveting talk took the audience step by step through the rescue operation that still has an emotional effect on Maj Hanford. To top off the evening, his friend, Capt Scott O’Grady was not only at the graduation but also gave some quick and useful fighter-pilot tips to the graduating new fighter pilots.

Capt O’Grady implored the grads to never take their jobs for granted. He mentioned that there would be good and bad days, but their time as fighter pilots will never compare to the civilian world if they decide to separate in the future. He even said he wished he’d had stayed the full 20 years and retired as an Air Force fighter pilot.  As a side note, Maj Hanford is one of the most celebrated pilots in the USAF F-16 Community. He has been inducted into the Aviation Week and Space Technology Laureate Hall of Fame and has his name permanently inscribed in the Aviation Hall of Fame at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum. As mentioned, he is a veteran of Operation Deny Flight and Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded two DFCs with Valor.

After Maj Hanford’s presentation, the 24th Flight was honored to present the Daedalian’s Maj Gen Franklin A Nichols Leadership Award to Maj Alex “Luxe” Johnson. A former B-52H Combat Systems Officer with combat experience, Maj Johnson now joins the select few winners of the Leadership Award among the F-16 Fighter Pilot Community. The below photo is of Maj Johnson addressing the graduates and guests at during the ceremonies.

After graduation, “Luxe” will return to his Toledo, Ohio, Air National Guard Unit. The 24th flight congratulates Maj Johnson and all the graduates of Class 23-CBH and wishes them the greatest success in their upcoming assignments and new careers. Also, special thanks to Lt Col Trace Hayward, Commander of the 314th Fighter Squadron, for hosting a fantastic event.  The below photographs are of the Daedalians and their Leadership Award recipient, Maj Alex “LUXE” Johnson.