We continue with our 4-part series on why we want to become fighter pilots today with the theme of “The Mission.”
Last time, we talked a bit about how the dream of becoming a fighter pilot usually begins not unlike falling in love with a potential girlfriend or boyfriend- with a sort of superficial infatuation brought on by cool eye candy and the promise of prestige.
But as is the case with a relationship, once we establish that serving the United States and its allies in the cockpit of an awesome fighter jet is what we want, we then move on to some more serious thinking: “What is my purpose in being a fighter pilot with the United States military? I don’t just want to be cool…I want to do something meaningful with my life. Something that counts!”
Well, by being a fighter pilot, you will definitely have a job that counts! You’ll be the very first in line to fire ordinance upon an enemy if battle is called for (hence Viper’s line in the Top Gun movie, “We’re the tip of the spear. We’d best be sharp!”) And your primary purpose in the air will be to support the troops on the ground. Supporting those troops is what military aviation is really all about
Realizing that, you begin to see that your mission is really only a small part of a very large mission. The overall mission of the U.S. military is to protect U.S. citizens from the threat of possible attack from the outside. Most people don’t realize what a good job the military does of this because to most American civilians, war is something that they see on the nightly news taking place in another part of the world. Except for the American Civil War in the 1860’s, there hasn’t been military ordinance fired against an enemy on American soil for two centuries or so, which is a testament to how effective the military is at their mission. Of course, there have been terrorist attacks such as 9/11, which used airliners as weapons, but this only serves to keep us on our toes as to the always-changing nature of warfare and why we should never get complacent in our mission.
But you will be more than just a pilot serving your ground troops with air support. To become a fighter pilot, you must first become an officer. And officers are leaders! They are the management staff of the military. In fact, the very reason that fighter pilots are required to be officers is because of the awesome responsibility that you will have in that cockpit. You will be in command of a weapons system platform that can literally decide the fate of thousands, if not millions of people, all over the world. It’s a responsibility so big that it can hardly even be put into words.
So, as you prepare to join the elite by investing in the Fighter Pilot Power Pack (www.becomefighterpilot.com) and join our exclusive Afterburner Club (www.afterburnerclub.com), you will not just be learning everything you need to know to get through boot camp and studying to know your dream plane long before you even climb into it for the first time, you’ll also be learning how to stand out among all the other fighter pilot candidates by being a leader. This is something you can start doing right now! It doesn’t matter if you’re still in middle or high school or are woring your way through college right now; the leadership skills that you demonstrate right now at this stage of life will count towards showing that you have what it takes to take on the responsibility of flying a fighter with fate-altering ordinance at your fingertips and support the overall mission.
The power is- and will always be- in your own hands!
Semper Fi!