87R29683 JGH-D
By: Rosenthal H.R. No. 1759
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Justin Elliott has been
appointed as the commander of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds for
the 2022-2023 demonstration season; and
WHEREAS, The official air demonstration team of the U.S. Air
Force, the Thunderbirds unit was first established in 1953, and its
crack jet pilots have flown at air shows across the nation and
around the world; over the past 68 years, they have performed
spectacular aerial maneuvers before millions of people; and
WHEREAS, A native of Jersey Village, Texas, Justin Elliott
majored in mechanical engineering at Yale University, where he was
a member of the ROTC; after earning his bachelor's degree in 2005,
he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and he is a
2012 graduate of the USAF Weapons School and a 2015 graduate of the
USAF Test Pilot School; in the course of his military career, he has
logged more than 2,000 hours of flight time and over 255 hours as a
combat pilot; and
WHEREAS, This skilled aviator's air force career has included
service as an F-15E operational test pilot at Nellis Air Force Base
and as an experimental fighter test pilot at Eglin AFB; he has also
held the post of director of operations for the 59th Test and
Evaluation Squadron at Nellis, and in January 2020 he became the
squadron's commander; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Justin Elliott has greatly
benefited the mission of the U.S. Air Force, and he may reflect with
pride on his many achievements as he takes on the challenges and
opportunities of his exciting new assignment; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Lieutenant Colonel Justin Elliott
on his appointment as the commander of the U.S. Air Force
Thunderbirds and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued
success in his important work; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Lieutenant Colonel Elliott as an expression of high
regard by the Texas House of Representatives.