Boy meets pilot

by Bryan Magaña
419th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

3/28/2014 - HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Jacob Ogden, an eighth-grader at Legacy Junior High School in Layton, gets an F-16 "101" from Lt. Col. Paul "Buster" Delmonte, an F-16 pilot in the 419th Fighter Wing. The two recently met by chance when Ogden, 14, saw Delmonte wearing his flight suit in a doctor's waiting room. Ogden approached him, saying he's thought about becoming a fighter pilot. Delmonte passed the boy his business card, and a few days later, Ogden was on Hill's flightline getting an up-close look at the F-16.

"I've always been interested in the military," Ogden said. "Plus, they have good benefits."

Ogden's mom, Lisa, said flying is in her son's blood. "I was working as a flight attendant when I was pregnant with him, so he's been flying since before he was born," she said.

After getting familiar with the F-16, Delmonte took Ogden to Hill's control tower to get a bird's-eye view of the flightline.