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John Kristensen "STI" Captain, ADO-1, 727 Fighter Squadron Fighter Wing Skrydstrup
+3100 Flight Hours
Major flying events:
10 OEF combat sorties TLp 4-week flying course link-16 tdpu 2005 red flag 2004 nordic air meet 2004, sweden acmi decci, italy 2004 acmi north sea, uk 2003
Other Events:
Staff tour, US CENTCOM, Macdill afb, florida |
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was born on the 27th of March 1972 in Sæby Sjælland, Denmark,
as the youngest of 3 children. My parents, Margit and Arne Kristensen,
owned a farm some 10 kilometers north of the town of Slagelse. 1988 I met
my wife, Betina during the first week of Gymnasium. I graduated from “Slagelse
Gymnasium og HF” in 1991, where I majored in Math, Chemistry, and English.
In February 1993 I started as a private at AB Skalstrup, just south of Roskilde and in April I moved on to the Sergeant School at AB Værløse, near Copenhagen. After becoming a Sergeant I attended the Basic Flying Screening at the Flying School, AB Karup in Jutland. In December 1993 I passed my “final-check” and then moved on to the RDAF Academy. During our 2-year stay at the Academy I became Chief-of-Cadets. In October 1995 we left for Sheppard AFB, Texas, USA to attend the ENJJPT-program. Friday the 13th of December 1996 we graduated as the newest fighterpilots in NATO – the only letdown was that due to problems in the F-16 conversion in Denmark none of us Danes were assigned to fighters. Given the choice between the C-130 Hercules and the G-3 Gulfstream – I chose the jet. Back in Denmark Betina and I got married February 1st 1997. At the same time I began flying the G-3 Gulfstream out of Værløse AB. It was great - but I still wanted to fly the F-16. After a year and a half and 250 hours in the G-3 I was assigned as Instructor Pilot at the Flying School in Karup. I flew as an Instructor Pilot at Karup AB for almost 2 years, logging more than 400 hours as an IP. At the same time I managed to get my PPL, CPL, and the civilian instructor license at Copenhagen - Roskilde Airport. January 2000 I finally started the F-16 conversion but during April and May 2000 I was assigned to the RDAF Flying School as a guest-IP. On August 15th 2000 I got the status on the F-16 and I finished the Operationel Upgrade Program on May 18th 2001. By the end of July 2001 and untill the 26th of June 2002 I attended the Captains-course at the Air Force Academy in Jonstrup, Copenhagen. During the course I managed to maintain status as Instructor Pilot on the T-17 Saab Supporter and operational status on the F16 Classic (civilian IP flying was very limited during that year). On January 18th my wife gave birth to our first born kid - Simon and I must admit that the workload was way too much! But I managed to maintain my flying status thanks to my loving and very helpful spouse. In August 2002 I started the MLU-conversion with the 726th Squadron at Aalborg AB. It was quickly completed however I did not manage to get my LANTIRN conversion before the 726 SQN deployed to the Operation Enduring Freedom theater flying combat missions in Afghanistan out of Manas Air Base. Therefore, I did a staff tour at the US Central Command, Tampa, Florida during January and February 2003. During my stay at the Central Command Denmark and The Netherlands decided to extend the OEF contribution with another six months. I quickly got my re-qualification in the Viper and the LANTIRN conversion was also completed. At the beginning of July I left Denmark for Manas AB. During the next four weeks I flew combat sorties over Afghanistan. The stay at Manas AB came to a sudden stop when my father died. The Air Force provided excellent support and within 72 hours I was reunited with my family. On October 1st the Danish fighter-contribution to OEF stopped and the Squadron is back to normal peace time training. As of September 1st 2004 I have been promoted to Second in Command in the Squadron. On February 1st 2005 I was ordered to Air Base Skrydstrup as a single man advanced party. The objective was to ensure a smoother move of the 726th Squadron to Skrydstrup. However, this task ended when I showed up at Skrydstrup. I was put in a position as Assistent Director of Operations (ADO-2) in the 730 Squadron. On January 1st 2006 I moved to the 727 Fighter Squadron, now as ADO-1. Only time will tell how great our new FS will be but it looks great right now... My civilian instructor pilot certificate is now valid again but time is limited .... This homepage was originally designed in order to provide the guys from our class a place to stay in contact with each other. Real world events and Operational Security considerations have forced me to re-design this homepage; Names have been removed and sections have likewise been removed. One thing is still valid - if you have any questions about the education as a pilot go ahead and e-mail me. All the questions, comments and answer is no longer on-line - but I will answer all mails.. Enjoy... J. Kristensen (STI) |
