Forty-six Flight Service Specialists will graduate this week from Lockheed Martin's Flight Service Academy in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Following graduation, each of the 46 students will be assigned to one of the Flight Service Stations across the U.S., working to serve the general aviation community as a Lockheed Martin employee.

The graduation ceremony of the third and fourth classes of Flight Service Specialists will be held on Dec. 21, 2006 at the new Prescott Service hub located at 9807 East Valley Road in Prescott Valley, Ariz. The celebration will begin at noon with guest speakers and the awarding of certificates, followed by lunch.

Among the graduates will be John Lockheed, great grandson of company founder Allan Loughead. John Lockheed also went into an aviation field, as had his father and grandfather before him. He served with the U.S. Air Force in Kirkuk, Iraq and was recognized as both Airman of the Year and Air Traffic Controller of the Year by the Air National Guard in 2004. Lockheed received the elite honor of being selected as one of the U.S. Air Force's Twelve Outstanding Airmen of the Year in 2005.

Students at the Flight Service Academy have undergone ten weeks of stringent academic classes. The course provides pre-requisite core knowledge, including meteorology and basic navigation, required for their subsequent on- the-job training and certifications as Flight Service Specialists.

Lockheed Martin Information Technology assumed operation of fifty-eight Flight Service Stations in October of 2005 after being awarded a $1.7 billion outsourcing contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Dramatically improving the speed of information transfer to pilots, Lockheed Martin will serve the flying community with a revitalized system consisting of three new hubs and 17 refurbished automated Flight Service Stations.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin Corporation employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin