Here Are the 3 Things You Need to Earn Your Wings
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
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Before you can emerge victorious while doing the nation’s bidding in hostile skies across the globe, you have to make it through flight school - you have to get your wings. I’ve been an instructor at both the training command and RAG levels, and what I know based on the successes and failures of flight students I’ve dealt with over the years, is regardless of branch of service or pipeline - rotary wing, maritime, strike, pilot or NFO - to complete the program and reach your goal of earning your wings, you need three basic things: aptitude, adaptability, and attitude.
If you attend to these three things, you will make it through flight school and achieve your goal of getting your wings, and at that point you’re on your way to a life of the greatest consequence - a job you can’t believe you get paid to do and the sort of things they make movies about.
My dad was a USAF fighter jock/'Nam, etc.- told me from a young age...."Your Attitude determines your Altitude (in Life).". At 92, he's still around....and still right.
I don't think there's any aviator-themed channel on TH-cam that HAS, and can TELL- stories quite like Ward does. That's what makes the channel interesting and enjoyable. It beats the heck out of some dude flying a corp biz jet....
Ward, ol' buddy, I was just like you. As a mediocre student in college, I never really learned how to study. Well, Pensacola changed all that starting in 1971 and for the first time in my life I applied myself to my fullest potential and was rewarded with an immensely gratifying 7 years as a Naval Aviator. Thank you for your TH-cam productions. They bring back some truly great memories.
Did you fly the Tomcat, sir?
May I add a 4th thing you need to earn your wings? You also need a PLANE :)
@@trvman1 LOL
On a clear day I can see to the bottom of Escambia Bay
Ditto.
i had my 13yr old son listen to this episode. the 3 A's apply to all walks of life. Something all of us need to be reminded of.
Not a military guy here, but that advice was great.
I agree. As a 20+ year law enforcement veteran I can say those three things make you or break you, especially early in your career.
It is pretty good living advice. Carry yourself well and care about the image that you project if you believe you need to appear white-collar, study judiciously and percerveer, and learn to accept critisism as a critique of your work, not a critique of you.
@@Mike4444x !!!aa
You pretty much the nailed it ,the
adventure and pain.Well done.
From my experience, I’d say it works for med school and a surgery residency.
It's great advice for life, in general.
Not only for flight school, but life in general. Listen up people.
You are so lucky I don’t live next door to you. Man I’d never leave. Gibson. Rickenbacker. Marshall. Aviation. Models. I know you got tools. I’d be “MOOCH II”!! Excellent content. Have been in love with aviation since junior high. Thank you for sharing your incredible career and life. Many blessings!
Just bring beer and cigars when you come!
@@WardCarroll thank you for you tales… now I am re-reading the Yeager books. So good. Greatest generation. Thank you for responding! I’m all giddy now with STAR CELEBRITY FEVER!!
Just found your channel the other day. As someone whose dream job as a kid was to be a Navy pilot, but had that dream shot down (pun intended) by a football injury in highschool, this is a goldmine. Thanks for sharing your stories and wisdom.
Indeed! great wisdom and good will.
I had the same dream as a kid. It got shot down by being born unlucky (asthma bad enough to not be able to fake my way in). Eventually I just wanted to enlist, but when I was about 16 and every recruiter I talked to said I couldn't enlist... well it's their job to find a way to say yes and they were saying no so instead I went and became a merchant marine officer.
I know how you feel. I was an enlisted guy putting my package together for AOCS; I wanted Tomcats. Dick Cheney killed the Tomcat program with the stroke of a pen. Wouldn’t have gone through the pipeline by the time I’d have graduated.
Well I can top this , my mother never hugged me ! Try living with that you pansy’s!
Great channel. I worked F-14 flight test at the Grumman Aerospace facility in Calverton New York for 22yrs F-14 Carrier suitability out of Patuxent River Naval test facility where I also served while enlisted in the USN. I then transitioned to RA5C Vigilantes out of NAS Albany Georgia and West Pac aboard the USS Ranger as a plane captain in 1970. I loved naval aviation and I’m still in contact with my flight crew while serving in RVAH-1. Participated in all carrier work ups prior to VF-1 and VF-2 making the first F-14 deployment aboard CVN-65. Keep the videos coming shipmate 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thanks, Art.
I'm an instructor here in Pensacola, and I live over in Alabama. I chose it because everyone else stays in or near Pensacola and the front gate traffic is aweful. I come in on highway 98, and catch the back gate, easy traffic, better schools for my kids, and I got a better house too.
Anything I need in Pensacola, it's a 30 - 45 minute drive.
FlorBama.
Hi Ward, Great advice and examples of how you succeeded at NAS Pensacola! I'm a Navy Brat, Dad was a submariner for 26 years, USNA class of '54. Well, my eldest son, was a victim of a NAMI WHAMI. He graduated from college with two business degrees, and hated the jobs he had. He liked my life style as a professional pilot, so he went out, and got his pilot's license, on his own, took all the tests and the Navy offered him a slot at OCS in Newport RI. He went through a pre induction flight physical up at Whidbey island, passed, went through another physical at OCS, passed, and when he went to his physical in Pensacola, the person measuring his sitting height failed him for less than 1/2 an inch! Needless to say he was devastated and he asked about a waiver for a pipeline variance. He was not alone, there were 8 other O-1s looking for sitting height waivers. None were successful except the Academy guy (regular commission) who's father was also a Vice Admiral, which I understand. But my son didn't give up his dream either, just like you didn't. He put in for a discharge from the Navy, which they weren't too happy about, and started applying to Guard/Reserve units throughout the country to get sponsored to go Air Force UPT. Long story short, he was successful and graduated last May. Remember guys, there is more than one way to skin a cat, so don't give up on your dream!
Great story, Jeff. Thanks for sharing it here.
This should be considered as mandatory viewing for anyone about to embark on flying training..
I'm reminded of a question that former President Jimmy Carter was asked by Adm Hyman Rickover prior to joining the nuclear submarine programme.
He was asked if what his class position had been at Annapolis..
When JC replied, the Adm asked him if he'd worked his hardest?
When JC replied no, the Adm followed it up with an unanwserable question - "Why not?"..
It took me a few months in flying training to realise that second best wasn't good enough. I had to give it 100% of my abilities.
I've forwarded this video to a few friends..
Wise words. Thanks for posting Ward.
Thanks, Pip. Good story.
I’m currently a flight student at VT-10 in the Primary stage and to hear about the flight school experience from a retired NFO is very insightful. I really like how you touched on the character and type of person required to earn their wings. Your points on aptitude, adaptability, and attitude coincide with the advice/criticism I’ve received from retired sim instructors to IPs alike so far in my training. I consider myself proud to be in the naval aviation community knowing that these are the values necessary in order to be a part of it.
One key factor for me was having LT. Larry Poppa as my primary instructor in T34B. He said that ALL of his students got their wings. In my case, I went on to T2A training in Kingsville and then to F9 and F11 at the same location. Having the right instructor in primary seems to be a significant factor.
Chuck Yeager said in his biography that got sick his first time up in a plane, and even reconsidered going back up, but figured what the hell and stuck with it because he was good at it.
Now thats a legend!
My dad, 31yr/USAF- fighter pilot. At 92- still around; his saying from my kid years on...."Your ATTITUDE in Life determines your ALTITUDE in life." Another great vlog Ward; tremendous content/insights....but most of all: the ABILITY to present the information professionally. So few can.
The TV show XFactor is full of people who misunderstood what’s meant by “you’ve got really want it”. They think it’s just a case of feeling an emotion of wanting something, and are then surprised when they fail. They totally miss that it’s about translating that desire into action and fortitude to do what it takes to succeed.
Had the privilege of doing an arrested landing on the Lexington on a COD back in 1990 during a VIP tour. The most exhilarating experience I have ever had. Had to helo back to Pensacola because the COD experienced mechanical trouble while taking the first VIP group back. So I never got to experience a catapult launch. Needless to say, my admiration for anyone that can land a fixed wing aircraft on an aircraft carrier went up by an order of magnitude.
When you mentioned adaptability, I remembered a conversation I had with my Asst. AOC at USAFA. He was a helo pilot. He experienced an equipment failure in the air and began to execute the recovery procedure. It didn't work. In the end, he rewrote the procedure on the way down, recovering the helo. It boggled my mind that someone could be so in touch with an aircraft, to so innately know it, that something like this was even possible to do. So, yeah, adaptability.
True for flight school and for life. This episode, & "How to Be a Good Wingman," and others are lessons for life -- regardless of chosen vocation, and avocation - e.g. soccer referee ; - ) Keep it comin' Ward. Entertainment and education all in one!
Really takes me back Ward, thank you so much. AOCS Pensacola summer of ‘82, VT-10 in the fall of ‘82, then to Miramar and WestPac: VAW-110, VAW-117, USS Enterprise (met Tom Cruise in the passageway in ‘85 SoCal workups), and enjoyed the real Cubi Pt O’Club bar a few times in ‘84 and ‘86. Those were the days….
You were in the same squadrons/places as my dad, he was an NFO
@@cra139 What’s his name?!
What you said about not living at the party house is so true. Had someone say that to me years ago about how difficult it was to study because their off campus apartment became the party house. It sounds great, but it comes back to bite you in the ass.
Ward - you absolutely nailed it. I spent about 8 months between graduation and reporting to Pensacola at a Military Aviation contractor because the pipeline was choked up (this was in 1984). There were pilots and NFOs there to do check rides (and other admin stuff) on the planes being delivered to the fleet. I'm sure me and my fellow ensigns were being evaluated by the more senior aviators as you said, and we got to fly in older fighters once we completed some training. They also took pleasure in checking us for airsickness adaptability :) , and we took part in a safety standdown that was Navy wide along with the contractor's test pilots. I wouldn't trade the experiance for anything.
Phoenix, AZ checking in, excellent content as usual Ward.
Under the category of "Adaptability / Getting Comfortable with being Uncomfortable" I would like to add the importance of physical fitness. Flying is a physical activity that requires both mental and physical fitness. If you want to be a pilot, taking care of your body through proper rest, nutrition and exercise has to be a lifestyle. A person simply cannot perform at the necessary level if you are hungover, your lungs can't keep up, etc. If you don't know much about nutrition or how to cook proper meals, well that is something else you will have to learn.
Good Luck to all the current and future aviators out there.
Great point. Gotta be physically fit.
So much truth! USCG enlisted H-65 aircrewman here - left the service to become a civilian pilot with my GI Bill. All those years of talking crap about my pilots until I got my butt kicked at flight school. Humbling. Finished through Commercial, but really had to focus hard to finish. Love the channel sir!
Allan: As a Marine Corps flight instructor way back in 1973, I thought I was God's gift to Navy Flight School as I sauntered out for my first T-28 ride with a new student. Turns out he was a USCG AVCAD who had been a crewman on the old USCG Albatross amphibian, HU-16. He knew so much more about that 9-cylinder engine than I ever imagined! And, he proved himself capable as a pilot too. Lesson learned: instruct & lead the student but also open my ears to learn from their experience which sometimes is extensive. It was a distinct privilege, later on, to be asked to read him his commissioning oath as an Ensign on the same day he was also awarded his wings. Years later, flying as a Reservist, I stopped to refuel at the Coast Guard facility at Astoria, OR. My student had become a maintenance officer (0-4) and was available for a few moments to chat. Great to see him again! Coaties are some of the best Aviators in the world.
Adaptability is not just a good posture for your military career, but for EVERY facet of life. I wish that I'd learned the lesson "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable" early in life, instead of learning it the hard way through life. You never know when you're going to be thrown into a new working situation, deal with an unhappy or violent coworker, customer, or family member, receive a medical diagnosis that will change every aspect of your life, lose some control over your financial situation, or worse lose a cherished loved one. Or any number of uncomfortable situations, more than I could list here. The ability to evaluate your position, take stock of your resources, come up with options for a course of action, and execute without falling back on "This is how I've always done it, why isn't it working" will help you go far and overcome a lot of difficult situations.
Admiral Halsey got his wings when he was 52. Admiral King told Halsey he only had to complete the air observer course but Halsey went for the 12 week aviator course saying "I thought it better to be able to fly the aircraft itself than to just sit back and be at the mercy of the pilot," He forgot to tell his wife he was taking the actual aviator course when she thought he was just doing the air observer course. Her response to her daughter was "What do you think that the old fool is doing now? He's learning to fly!"
Hi Ward i really love your videos.Im 72 and live in Ireland but love all about Aircraft.I have been in an aerobatic aircraft with my friend Gerry Humphries an ex RAF fighter pilot and now lives in Co Limerick,Hes an ex Harrier pilot and took me all over the Sky cause he knew could do it,Great memories.
Currently an SNA at NAS Meridian with TW1. Could not agree more with the top three. Really cool to hear Ward’s experiences and see that the same things he did, I did. Love the content sir. S/F and BZ.
Fly safe and keep us posted.
7 years Army Aviator, helicopters and fixed wing, 2 tours RVN. 13 years Naval Aviator (USMC), F-4J/S, A-4 (several), C-117D, UC-12D. Did very well in both environments.
I second your evaluation for success... Aptitude, Adaptability and Attitude. And, stay humble because there is always someone better than you, and you really don't know everything.
Snake... Out.
Thanks, Snake.
Thanks Ward for aiding in my journey to become a pilot.
The three qualities you put out encapsulate truly what you need to have to get through the program. I would humbly add just one more (which you touch upon in your examples of times in which you were having problems): You do whatever it takes.
Aptitude, check. In my career as a major airline pilot I often heard from the F.L.A.P. pilots that their experience doing 4-7 legs a day was more valuable than my military experience. I thought about my time as a FAC(A) in the OV-10 controlling multiple flights of F-4s in the MOAs around Yuma. I would be working two VHF and two FM radios coordinating with the ground commander, writing nine line brief in grease pencil on the canopy and controlling the stick between my knees as I orbited in a high valley in the mountains….yeah….aptitude and adaptability, not things that are really in the syllabus but definitely being evaluated. Forty years later I still rely on those early days!
I was at Pcola in 1999-2000. I did the EXACT same thing. Drown proofed in the apartment pool and flew low levels in a private plane and also used Microsoft Flight sim as practice!! Great videos!! (VT-4 & VT-86)
I was an instructor at VT-10 many moons ago. An additional comment that was significant was before any flights started many students made names for themselves in ground school. Don’t be the know it all, cocky out loud, or not put time into every class setting at home. You will be remembered when the flights start and that won’t be fun. Also ALWAYS HAVE A THROW UP BAG IN YOUR FLIGHT SUIT!
Bottom line gouge right there.
I was also class of "82, NROTC. A full scholarship student, commissioned, ENS, USN in May 1982. I flunked the USNA physical because of bad eyes, but had a friendly eye doc give me an easy eye test that got me through what was called "DODMERB" (medical review board), so I got in NROTC. Probably they passed me because I had high math scores and the Navy was desperate for Nukes. Anyway, taking a step back before flight school, I would say about 75% of my graduating class wanted to go to flight school, including Marine Options. At the time, there was a very strict requirement for 20/20 vision, so all the mids who wanted become pilots were totally stressed out for the eye exam that would determine their fate. It was a total freak out. The mids that had less than 20/20 wend NFO. It was simple. Bad eyes = NFO, good eyes = pilot. A few mids went SWO, but not many. Marine options were split about 50/50 aviation and ground pounder. Almost all the Marine options that got wings became helo pilots. Almost all the mids that went to NFO school went to P-3s. As I recall, at the time P-3 were swallowing up a huge amount of NFOs. The few guys who washed out of flight school went intelligence. I don't know any who went SWO and later in the fleet I never met a flight school wash out on the bridge. A few non scholarship mids who got USNR commissions and washed out of flight school were discharged from active duty and did their service in the reserves. I was a rare bird that became an ENS, USN, SC. Thats Supply Corps. I later got my water wings while serving on a Knox FF forward deployed from Yokosuka. I was at NAS SIG when the Abu Nidal incident happened (the duty officer was another suppo!) and ran the fuel farm that put gas in your birds. Got out in '89 and had a successful business career. Funny, I got LASIK operation in 2020, and since had perfect vision. 20/20. Still to this day, 22 years later. I wonder how the military handles medical corrected vision or if the uncorrected 20/20 vision requirement is still in place.
I was AOCS at the same time and exactly what I remember. But for AOCS the MEPS initial physical was a "give me". Then I waited to finally get my orders for student naval aviator. Then finally went to Pensacola and got the NAMI whammy. Eyes were 20/25. This was frequently common and I believe truly intended in order to recruit NFOs. After all that time waiting, I decided to go NFO. Some good experiences and proud to serve, but in hind site I would not chose that path again.
same here, I asked, what do I need to do to go to flight school. the Marine Corps told me I needed to graduate, and I said I can do that... didn't set any academic records, but I graduated. Once I got through The Basic School, again enough to get buy, went to Pensacola and found out real quick if you were not scoring 96% or better on academic exams you were not competitive or worse. So I made sure I scored 96% or better on every exam. I wanted to go A-6's and not EA-6's and was determined to be in control of my destiny vs academically defaulted into a second choice. once I got my wings, wouldn't you know there was an A-6 slot available for me and off I went to Cherry Point for A-6 Replacement Aircrew training, the RAG... went to the West Coast where I wanted to go and the rest is mystery...enjoy the video's Ward...
Great advice to those younger generations trying to figure out their lives!
I did 4 years, AE2, HSL-32, Kaman SH-2F, NAS Norfolk. You have a "4.0" Channel!
And, I'm trying to learn the guitar, presently, and I see that you are into guitars!
I sincerely hope that episodes like this will inspire some youngsters who will one day become the next generation of great Naval aviators!
15 y.o here with that dream
@@comconproduction8333 Fantastic. Study hard and don't take "no" for an answer...best of luck to you!
@@comconproduction8333 ha! same age here. im on this long path with. love from canada
Awesome video, brought back a lot of memories. I was enlisted aircrew and went to Pensacola for the Aircrew candidate School back in the 90s. I too had to do the remedial swimming after hours. No problem with drown proofing or treading water, I just sucked as a swimmer; anyway I made it though. I am glad they kept us on base in the barracks, I'm not sure how it would have went if we were allowed to live off base. I think the Aircrew candidate school has to be one of the most fun schools in the whole military. Getting paid to PT for a few hours a day, go swimming, etc. and then go out after to party and explore the gulf coast of Florida on the weekends. Good times.
Your advice for flight school is applicable to anyone starting out in their career - I wish more of our young adults could hear it. And as usual, your ability to talk story, sharing your 'behind the curtain' experiences, continue to capture my attention.
Ward, I stumbled onto this video……great work and brought back many memories. Everything you have said is pretty much applicable
to all of life. Keep up the informational videos, they will inspire a new generation. Sure do miss the “Brownshoes in Action” comix series
from Approach.
In places like Tyson's Corner Virginia High Schools have people come in to tell you how to get a security clearance.
Makes sense. Back in the day the Recruiters would come and the ASVAB or AFQT would be administered. Like Ward said about conduct applies to High School.
Don't succumb to Peer Pressure! The polygraph wins most of the time.
Yet if you end up in Juvie it's not the end of the road. Juvies became Swift boat men and Deputies later.
Alan Watts said in the Book. If you are a judge-then unless you can empathize with the defendant then you'll know only the letter of the law and not the spirit.
Right Conduct = Right Thinking Vice Versa.
I got a good chuckle about being able to adapt to new experiences . On my first flight @ P-Cola ( Saufley Field ) my instructor drove the T34 on the runway so hard that I thought I might break a tooth . I KNEW that I could do better than that ( nobody had ever asked but it turned that I had more flight time than my first two instructors COMBINED - one of whom was a Medal of Honor recipient in Viet Nam ). When he (instructor) allowed me to “ try it “ I greased it on with a full stall landing that had only a slight “chirp”. I was so proud - smug would probably be the correct term . Imagine my surprise when the voice in the back start screaming “ No damnit , you drive it on . Only a ---- civilian would do a full stall landing on a flight deck .”
Learning had just happened . Much of my previous experience helped , but there always seemed to be a new wrinkle hiding in the bushes to deal with. 😊
Semper Fi
Semper Fi!
GREAT sea story. Thanks for adding it here, Bill.
Ward, I went through aircrew school in 1983 and had to go to stupid swim every night because of treading water. I was able to relive the feeling of reaching for the bamboo stick as you described it and the disappointment that immediately followed. I passed and went on to be a radar operator in a P-3C with over 3,000 hours of flying all over the Med and North Atlantic tracking submarines.
On my first flight as a NFO in Beech UC-45 over Guard came the following "Midair, Midair, Whiting Field , one parachute." Makes it all real.
Thanks so much for another great video, Ward, I really appreciate your experience, honesty, and your genuine love for what you do. I'm a high school teacher in Australia and so much of what you speak about can be applied by young people on their pathway to achieving success. Maybe in another lifetime, I'll get the chance to be a fast jet pilot. DCS will have to suffice for the time being!
Your description reminds me of my grad school (Electrical Engineering). experience. No glory, just TONS of work and a TONS of rigor. Massive reading and calculations, deepening knowledge anywhere I could insert myself.
And I vividly remember the moment i realized I was driving hard on a specific path to a specific goal and a specific timeline … and damn the torpedoes. Almost like turning into an IFR approach profile - inbound, speed set, distances being tracked, lower, and lower…
The dissertation committee can be friendly but they are frank. No BS that will fool them and you are naked in front of them. You fly or you fry,
I remember flying in for my dissertation defense - felt like a long flight that I truly flew by myself, alone. Low-level terrain following into the target, and only a single bomb to drop.
I had grown comfortable being uncomfortable. And there was no turning back.
(Happy outcome too!)
My dad worked for Ma Ball phone company before he signed up For US Army Air Corps. Aptitude, he was assigned to radio operator. He went to China in B-24, 14th AF, 308 BG, 375 BS. Tough Titti was the first aircraft he flew the hump in.
Your insight on success is exactly what I tell our recruits fresh out of the police academy when they start field training. Excellent advice sir 👍🏻🇺🇸
Love it.
This applies to so many thing. I was a poor student in college, got good jobs afterwards but never felt I had done my best. Went back to school at 32, entered medical school at 34 and have been blessed with a great career in anesthesiology. Out department chairman told us we need the 3 A’s to do well in our careers. Be available, affable and pay attention to details. It’s not flying, but it’s fun! Thanks again.
Just want to say I bought Punk's War and just finished reading it. I read it in two sittings. I really enjoyed it. Like all good books, it's about more than the subject matter. So much more. Can't wait to read the others. Bravo.
Thanks, Rick.
Congrats. On 100,000, this is now my top 2 shows, as soon as I see an alert of a new video, I watch as soon as I can, since I served during the time you were in, it brings back old memories
Thanks, Greg. Appreciate the support.
As an aspiring Naval Aviator this was extremely helpful, thank you!
Good luck, Noah.
My son basically told me the same things you talked about when we would discuss the traits needed to be successful in flight school. I enjoyed meeting the instructors and getting to see some of the evolutions he went through before earning his wings. Before he ever got into the T-6, he had photocopied a full-size instrument and side panels, and using an empty beer bottle as a stick, he learned where all the switches and controls were, and how to practice procedures he was being taught, in order to be ready for his first briefing and flight. The syllabus is an incredible amount of information to internalize before a student even sets foot in the cockpit. BZ to every pilot and NFO that succeeds in earning the coveted wings of gold!
You are helping 100s of people achieve their dream of becoming a fighter pilot, you are a truly great person!
Grateful for this forum to tell my stories.
Ward your list is right on! I could add more, I went through Navy Flight training twice first as an student NFO and then as a student Naval Aviator. I never got air sick.
I flew with a A-6B/N who puked in his plastic zip lock bag on almost every flight and pressed on with the task.
The question is HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?
I run into contempories and hear their crap about how they could have been a navy pilot..... First it's NAVAL AVIATOR then No they didn't have what it takes. Shuda wooda coulda.
Right Stuff? you bet.
Right attitude is a hug tie breaker. A good attitude will give you the benefit of the doubt.
Fly Navy
Sparky
Roger that, Sparky. Thanks.
Thanks for the memories, Ward, and GO ‘82!! Good summary, though my memory of myself at that time was how much of an absolute idiot I was. I am going to say that I was near 4.0 in VT-10 and VT-86, even though I sorta kinda got 1.5 “downs.” I Forrest Gump’d my way to Commodore’s List, or Commandant’s List-can’t remember exactly what it was called. Maybe part of the attitude thing is to never ever stop trying to be more perfect.
Great advice that can be used for more than just flight training. Works just as well for Naval Nuclear Power school, and civilian Nuclear Operator training.
Congratulations on the 100K!! I've only found you recently, but I really enjoy the background you're giving me in the community I've worked in for 35 years.
I've liked a lot of your videos; this one more than most.
I really enjoyed the pool and the weekend flight with neighbor and the way they illustrated good attitude and perseverance.
I struggled in VT-10, not doing bad, not doing great, but just surviving. I remember telling my wife, for the first time, I wasn't 100% sure I was going to make it through. So I sat down and polished my black flight boots. It was a simple thing to get my mind off the pressure, and at least my boots looked great. Next day I had a better attitude, more confidence, and I buckled down and made it though. Look good on the ramp, sound good on the radio!
Ward, as usual you make aviation interesting and personable. You made a comment about those students which had issues with getting airsick and that never overcame it and i paraphrase, "If your grades are good enough you could go to submarines." As a former submariner, I remember a particular lieutenant who graduated number three from the academy. Once I asked another lieutenant what he had majored in and he responded, "Plasma Physics." During this time all but the Supply Officer had been to nuclear power school. Even so, I remember the Supply Officer standing Officer of the Deck watches, a great responsibility as his commands dictate where the submarine is going and what evolution it is conducting. Just as I envision in the aviation community, these officer's were sharp, professional and often personable. Thanks for you videos Ward. I look forward to more.
My parents always use to tell me but they would passionately talk about how “parents These days don’t teach the kids how to fail!” This was in the 90s. I completely understand it after I became a CFI. You criticize someone and they are immediately defensive as if I’m trying to embarrass them. The reality I’m trying to keep them from dying. I believe I can teach anyone. It’s stupid simple except when it comes to crop dusting. My grandfather passed down his crop dusting company to myself and my brother. I have had multiple people want to get into it but we keep the reins pretty tight. Luckily growing up I raced stock cars 190 and sprint cars so speed perception I was adjusted. Those who have done it understand driving 210mph doesn’t feel fast after you’ve done it hours at a time weekly. It feels like 70mph. Once the brain adapts you maintain it. But I had a student just last week nearly hit a tree because his brain isn’t calibrated yet. Well he still believes I’m out to get him and embarrass him when literally all I want is for him not too kill his self. Learn how to fail before you learn how to succeed. Everyone fails it’s all about what you do about it.
This is sage advice and applicable to to any challenging career starting endeavor, not just Naval aviation. Thanks Ward for this content. This changes lives for the better.
Good advice to be successful in any career.
At age 38 im nonwhere in the position to go and pursue a pilot career. But i applaud your very good explenation and presenting style!
This is helpfull for the guys and girls who want to do this!
Ward, in a 12min video, you just summarized the message guidance and career councilors have been trying to get right for the past 70 years, and you've made the entire "career" section of bookshops worldwide redundant. This advice applies not only to flight school but all careers or jobs. Wish I had this 21 years ago !! You should consider becoming a life coach ! Thanks again, Santosh
When I was with 2 P.P.C.L.I I was waiting for my C.M.R.B ruling, so I was attached to 14 Training Group at C.F.B Winnipeg. Our job was to track all students in Flight School. We tracked many from NATO Countries. There were a lot of wash outs to say the least. I got to know many pilots while I was there, and they took me up a number of times. The pilot who had a liking to me was Maj. Mach. LOL the first time he took me up was in a Tudor, we got up flying very nicely, for a few minuets. Then he said hang on !!! Then he proceeded to try to get me sick. I think he pulled a lot of 6 G maneuvers!!! I think I swallowed my puck about 8 times. I could hear him laughing. We got back down and he congratulated me for not puking in the cockpit. He said not too many didn't especially a Grunt. He was impressed. What a great man!!! I flew in Tudors, T 33's and F 5's great planes!!!! Other than what us Grunts normally fly Hercs and Helos.
Excellent! Got my wings 24 Apr 74, right on!
Great stuff, all of which certainly applied to my flying training as an Observer in the Fleet Air Arm back in the mid-1970s, and indeed to my entire flying career.
I smiled when you gave that encouragement at the end, knowing that people who are heading into the Navy flight program are likely watching this.
Congratulations on 100 K. Your channel deserves it. Thanks for all the great stuff.
I was an Air Force Combat Systems Officer Instructor at NAS Pensacola from 2009-2013. Everything Ward mentioned is valid and true. One of the largest problems we had with students showing up for training was their attitude in them believing that if they just went through the motions and stayed out of trouble, they would be handed their wings in 11 months. Nothing could be further from the truth.
that's because up to that point they probably skated thru life. reality is the greatest eye opener.
That's great advice for anyone in any endeavor.
With respect to your experience, there's something else a student pilot needs and that's the ability to know how far they are from the ground.
A friend of mine was a National Service (1950s peace time conscript) trainee pilot in the RAF and couldn't get to grips with landing the aircraft safely. During an Air Officer Commanding's inspection he put a Jet Provost (still fairly new into service) down hard enough that the undercarriage went up through the wing. His flying career came to a very swift end.
This is applicable for all the first world major airlines as well.
I went through USAF pilot training in 1968. There's no substitute for flight aptitude. Everyone I trained with had great attitudes but some just did not have aptitude. Flying high performance aircraft is not an everyday skill. Everyone can't do this. What a feeling when you know you have conquered that beast, the airplane.
I started Pre-Flight July 1964 ! As an OCAN pay was $36 every 2 weeks , living off base was a dream for any of us LOL . We had Marine DI's running our butts totally for 18 weeks so everything you said is important . Made it through the program , commissioned and winged as an NAO and did two tours as an ECMO (Modern term) on Yankee Station flying with Zappers of VAW-13 ( Now VAQ130) In Slyraiders EA1F's .. Motavation ? Who wanted to be drafted in the 60's and carry rifle in the rice paddies ??
No college grad here. But you have those three things life will be way so much easier and more successful! Great Video!
Ward, your videos like these are just what I am looking for. Currently active duty as a aircraft maintainer seeking to get my commission so I may become pilot/NFO in the future. Thank you for the great videos and content! Keep if the great work!
Good luck, Chris!
This is great advice for LIFE, not just flying. Nice job!
Cogent thoughts, salient points, crisp delivery…Ward Carroll is on fire! Not since reading Stephen Counts’ Flight of the Intruder have I been interested in reading an aviation novel. The subject matter has to be compelling, exciting actually, for me to slog through a book. Now I’m looking forward to Punk’s War and some of Ward’s other novels. I hope he does audio books, listening to Ward deliver his novel would be excellent. 👍
Got Punk's war yesterday, could not put it down......you Naval Aviators really had a complicated job, your descriptions really shed light on how complex everything is......I Kept picturing you in my mind when you were describing incidents......really and some good laughs.....Thank You Commander Carroll......and don't chamber a round in your Pistol and then try to show you did not.......Cheers, Paul
Good advice! Thanks, Paul.
Great video! As a fellow-soon-to-be Pol Sci major, I'm amazed at the fact that this degree happens to be very, very popular among the military, as it happens to be the case with IR as well. Really interesting vid, excellent channel, and Godspeed Ward! Greetigs from Argentina.
Thanks, Lucio!
You wrote punks war when I was in flight school. You were doing a signing at some bookstore in Pensacola - I went, but you weren't there (I forgive you for the no-show). But there was a stack of signed books, so I bought one.
Read it and enjoyed it. I've thought about getting rid of that book everytime I move, but I keep it in case someone ever asks me what JO Naval Aviation was like. Most realistic representation I've read. Not sure if its still like that, but you certainly nailed the vibe for my time.
Sorry I missed you the first time. Thanks for keeping the book all these years. Does this author's heart good.
Great words for anyone pressing through life. Such a valuable culture to promote.
Ward, you are so right. I was in Aviation Officer Candidate School at Pensacola and we were given what was called a math/physics exemption test. Those who passed it were outposted to battalion and further training. The rest of us were put in Company G, a remedial group where it was primarily self-instruction. Obviously, many of us ( all college graduates) became discouraged and dropped out and returned to civilian life. My degree was in English, but I got high scores on the written tests for Navy pilot training. Even so, I found myself, as did others who found math anathema, disillusioned. I was told after I D O R ed that I could make it through if I wanted, but in retrospect, I rather doubt it because I never did that well in college math classes. But such is life.
Congratulations on 100k subscribers Ward. Keep up the great work. 👍
Bear with me, this i a long story. I was at the end of schooling when the war for independence began in my country, as soon as I graduated as a nuclear physics technician I applied for regular service and was thrown into combat engineering for handling and removing mines and explosivd. After basic training, specialist and special for handling explosives on the first day in the regular unit, I was appointed detachment leader, after four months of war operations, the platoon commander still with the rank of PFC (we were short on officers). Then they found out that I had a civilian diving license and loaned me to the Navy for additional specialization and underwater removal of unexploded ordnance, torpedoes, mines etc. Only then did my promotion to NCO come through a regular procedure. (Due to the war, they were usually 3 to 5 months late, so some were promoted after they had already been killed in combat). Now my battalion commander has an idea, when we have already gone through all this, we will lend you to the Air Force for parachute training and insertion behind enemy lines. I do that too and after three months of constant combat operations my time is up, I have served my time.
It’s hook time, the offer is 5 years, the rank of officer and basic flight training after which I can continue in Air Force pilot training after the war and I agree, I finish basic training in 8 weeks and have my first solo flight. Everything is great, the war is coming to an end, only two or three more major combat operations jumping between the Army, Navy and Air Force. Then as one of the few qualified for a deep dive I remove in the middle of winter at the bottom lying ship mines, there is a hypothermia and severe ear inflammation that damages the center of balance and hearing on the left side. This disqualifies me for further service and I am discharged on full-time pay sick leave until the end of my contract which is a reward because I have a little less than two years left. I still advise and teach recruits but I am on the bench. And so, that is a detour to the pilot in the Air Force, which unfortunately did not pass to my satisfaction.
I'm now 50 and do not regret, because that flight training was the best part of the service.
This brings back old memories of VT-10 in 1972-73. I still have some of my written notes. I am so sorry about Snort. I wish I had known him,
Lt Carroll...love your input about naval aviation and love the fact that your a retire RIO of my favorite bird the military built, the tomcat! Thank you for your service 🙏
Good advice for everyone all the time. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.
Outstanding content. Most of what you covered translates well to other military avenues as well as life in general. Enjoyed the video. Thanks.
Great info and well articulated. You reminded me of when I was at NAS Miramar as a Midshipman doing DWEST in the pool. I sucked at treading water. I did so poorly there that I went back home and started trying to learn how to swim on my own after work (summer job). I still sucked. Went back for my junior year and took swim classes for the full year. Learned how to breath and swim properly. I did NOT want to show up at AI unable to do the swim in flight gear. Great memories.
You’re killing it! Great VT-10 stories. Went through a few years after you and this all rang true. Also came back later as an instructor and we did indeed chat about studs who had kinks in their armor. As a board member I can also attest to studs not wanting to be at the wrong and of that long table with no glass of water in front of you! Keep ‘em coming.
My dad was a flight instructor at Saufley Field in 1963-65. He then was on CVA-43, the USS Coral Sea until 1967. Then we moved to Atlanta where he became a corporate pilot for a multi state electric utility corporation. He passed in 1989 at 58 years old. I have memories of the T-28's and T-34's at Saufley. I got to explore the Coral Sea when he was in Alameda between cruises.
He was brilliant, respected no nonsense badass. He and I caught 2 thieves in the act of burglarizing our neighbor and he shot all 4 tires on their car while I went in the house with a rifle and chased them into the woods.
The sheriffs deputies and the Grand Jury thought it was the best thing. I could never match him ever. He had high expectations.
Your Dad proved that there is more to flying than the Airlines and Military. Corporate flying and Netjets and Firefighting and others all require good pilots. 😉
Your rep is everything ! Good stuff
Not an aviator but the principles apply to non-flight qualifications as well. Thumbs up.
Great video. It's amazing how much your attitude determines how well you do