The squadron commander, Juan Aguilera, is another of the great active figures of the Spanish Air Force. He is in charge of what is considered one of the best combat air squadrons in NATO, Juan Aguilera is a benchmark in leadership and military tactics.
Noone would have thought it that he would have this career when he was a teenager and lived in a small town in the province of Seville. Coming from a poor family, his only aspirations were to work in the fields and help his people in the town. Everything changed when he was requested for mandatory military service. After completing the training, he was assigned to the Zaragoza Air Base. There he marveled at seeing the then-new American F-18 fighter-bombers. Something changed inside him, an insatiable appetite that he didn’t know how to control: The urgent need to fly and become a fighter pilot.
Despite his humble origins, Juan Aguilera impressed everyone in his command with his great potential and ambition to pursue a career in the air force. It was so clear that one of the officers agreed to recommend him to the Air Force academy. After many efforts, the young Lieutenant Aguilera graduated first in his class and was assigned to the Morón Air Base. There he became part of the newly created squadron 111 ‘Devils of Hispania’, commanded at that time by Captain Guillermo Odén.
Soon his flying aptitudes were notable. His flying acuity and his ability to anticipate his rivals’ movements in maneuvers earned him the nickname ‘Lince.’ His worth was such that in 2001 he was selected for a special collaboration program with the USAF. Through which, he was integrated for six months into a North American combat squadron, the VFA-32 ‘Swordsmen’, and participated in combat operations in Afghanistan. It was there that he first met then USAF Captain Jack Preston and Lieutenant Derek Chapman. He formed a great friendship with both of them that still endures today, thanks to the fact that they were later stationed with him at the Morón Air Base.
Since then, he rose through the ranks to become the commander of his beloved squadron ‘Diablos de Hispania’, after having been Colonel Guillermo Odén’s right-hand man. He could have continued to be promoted, and perhaps today he would be a Colonel and in command of the 11th Wing. But Juan cannot imagine his life without being able to pilot a fighter jet, he hates office work and military bureaucrats. That is why he is happy to remain a squadron commander. For him it is the greatest possible happiness, being responsible for the best pilots he had ever known and knowing that, when the time comes, they will be the only ones capable of making a difference.
