How Did Airmen Like William Tell? ‘If It Doesn't Come Back, There's Going to Be a Mutiny’

When F-35s, F-22s, and F-15s took to the skies over Savannah, Ga., earlier this month, it marked the first time in 19 years the Air Force had hosted its most prestigious air-to-air competition, William Tell.

It probably won’t take anywhere near so long for it to happen again.

“We’re already talking about running William Tell again in 2025,” said Brig. Gen. D. Micah “Zeus” Fesler, William Tell Air Expeditionary Wing commander, adding that discussions within Air Combat Command and Headquarters Air Force were underway even before the 2023 competition was over.

Indeed, that was an objective for William Tell ’23, said the competition’s director, Maj. Garrett “Dodge” Getschow in an Air & Space Forces Magazine interview. “One of the feedback comments from one of the surveys was, ‘If William Tell ’25 doesn’t come back, there’s going to be a mutiny.’”

Hundreds of Airmen participated in the meet at the Air Dominance Center, which also included weapons loading and intelligence competitions, and Getschow and Fesler both said the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive—not only an encouraging sign for William Tell, but an indication of the power of competition.

“We want to make it a regular event, and I think you will also see, there used to be a competition called Gunsmoke that was an air-to-ground competition,” Fesler added. “So I think you may see those continue out over time. And you may see William Tell continue into the future.”