Lt. Col. Luke Thompson, the 302nd Airlift Wing chief

Lt. Col. Luke Thompson, the 302nd Airlift Wing chief of aerial firefighting and command pilot, sits behind the flight controls of an Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules aircraft on the Peterson Air Force Base flightline, Sept. 13, 2017. Thompson retired from the U.S. Air Force after 32 years of Air Force service Nov. 4, 2017. Throughout his career, Thompson racked up nearly 10,000 flying hours and served on close to 20 deployments. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Frank Casciotta)