U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Lt. Col. Christopher Rothe relinquished command of the 70th Flying Training Squadron to Lt. Col. Timothy Ray on July 16, 2025, during a ceremony held at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. Col. Anthony Straw, 340th Flying Training Group commander, officiated the change of command ceremony.
Ray is a command pilot with more than 5,200 flying hours in the T-37, C-12, C-130, MQ-1, MQ-9, TG-15, TG-16, and UV-18; including 1,800 hours in Remotely Piloted Aircraft, nearly 200 combat hours and over 1,500 hours of combat support time. He is now responsible for the execution of the Air Education and Training Command / Air Force Reserve Command Associate Instructor Program at USAFA, supporting operations of the 306th Flying Training Group by conducting over 55,000 sorties and 22,000 parachute jumps annually.
The 70th FTS provides augmentation to the cadet airmanship programs for over 4,000 cadets annually, providing flying and jump instructor continuity across all airmanship programs including soaring, free-fall, powered flight and flight screening.