Latest schedule for the JSF (as described by Aerospace Daily):
To answer penderwt's question, it sounds like the F-35 will come online too late for your first tour.
[Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, June 21, 2004]
The Defense Department is expected to announce within a week or so that a Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) has formally approved a series of delays for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The delays, which have been revealed over the past several months, are intended to give the program more time to fix lingering weight problems. The schedule changes would move the first critical design review from April 2004 to the October-December quarter of 2005, move the first test flight from October 2005 to August 2006, and shift the start of low-rate production from 2006 to 2007. The initial operational capability (IOC) dates also would change: from 2010 to 2012 for the Marine Corps; from 2011 to 2013 for the Air Force; and from 2012 to 2013 for the Navy.