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Thunderbirds change command for 2010, 2011 air show seasons

February 25th, 2010
Lieutenant Colonel Case “Basket” Cunningham (right) took command of the Thunderbirds on January 15 at the team’s Nellis AFB hangar. Cunningham replaces Lieutenant Colonel Greg Thomas who led the team through the 2008 and 2009 air show seasons. He is shown here accepting command from Brigadier General Russell J. Handy, 57th Wing Commander. Cunningham graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1994. Before his assignment to the team, he was the Director of Operations for the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall AFB, the squadron responsible for training pilots in the F-22A Raptor. He has logged more than 2,000 hours with more than 1,800 hours in the F-15C, F-22A, and F-16C. He becomes the 33rd leader of the Thunderbirds.