HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah – Major Scott Lafferty, a weapons officer and F-35A pilot with the 34th Fighter Squadron, recently won the esteemed General Robbie Risner Award for his contributions to the Air Force mission in 2025.
The award is given to Airmen within their first year of graduating from the highly demanding Weapons Instructor Course at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. For Lafferty, the award reflects as much on the team around him.
"Honestly, it was a huge honor," said Lafferty. "The award was given for my contributions, but there were a ton of people who all pulled their weight and did the jobs that were asked of them. That enabled the wing to perform at a level that I would even be considered for that award."
Weapons school is known for rigorous, graduate-level combat tactics training. Graduates are expected to serve as their squadron's tactical experts and instructors.
"First and foremost, weapons school establishes tactical competence," Lafferty said. "But, it’s also a leadership course cloaked in tactics. It gives you a good understanding of other platforms and their capabilities and a network of people that you can call on to get the right answers when you don't have them."
For Lafferty, the transition from weapons school student to weapons officer practitioner was immediate. Within one month of his appointment as the 34th Fighter Squadron's weapons officer, he was leading critical deployed operations.
"I got home from weapons school, was home for a short period, and then we were deployed" Lafferty recalled. "From the time we got the notice, to the time we were flying combat sorties, was very a very quick turn. It was like drinking from a fire hose."
During the deployment, he served as the Mission Planning Cell chief and as an airborne mission commander for the first deployed combat sortie. He led seven combat missions and was “instrumental in developing new Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) to counter unique adversary threats.”
During the deployment, his knowledge of weapons systems led him to develop novel solutions for difficult targets that are now being used across the force. He also guided nine fellow pilots on their initial combat sorties, increasing the squadron's combat experience.
“His contributions to our squadron since he’s been back from weapons school and over this last deployment were insanely high,” said Lt. Col. Aaron Osborne, 34th Fighter Squadron commander. “We couldn’t be prouder of him.”
For Lafferty, the intense operational environment of the deployment proved the capability of the F-35A Lightning II.
"There's no other aircraft I would rather fly in combat than the F-35," he said. "It performed at or above the level that I expected it to the whole time we were there. That includes everything from the capabilities of the jet and its sensors to the connectivity we could provide to other platforms."
The award is also a reflection on the 388th Fighter Wing’s capabilities, which are relied heavily upon by combatant commanders, and the high operational tempo and readiness of the 388th Fighter Wing.
"To be a member of the 388th means being in the most likely position to actually execute the mission that we all train for," Lafferty said. "It's cool to be the tip of the proverbial spear, but it's also realizing that you can't really take days off. You have to be mentally prepared because the 388th, as we've seen, is pretty likely to be tasked with critical missions."