CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 2012 Western Branch High School graduate and Chesapeake, Virginia, native is participating in a rigorous training process that transforms officers into U.S. naval aviators.
Ensign Gabriel Wayman is a student pilot with the “Rangers” of Training Squadron (VT) 28, based in Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. The squadron flies the T-6B Texan II aircraft.
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning how to fly aircraft tactically up to Navy standards.
“I enjoy seeing above the clouds and seeing how hard I can push myself,” Wayman said.
Wayman credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Chesepeake.
“Growing up in Chesapeake, a big military community, has made a difference in my life,” Wayman said. “Feeling the patriotism in the area is one of the reasons why I joined the military. Additionally, playing baseball taught me teamwork and made me push myself to limits I never thought was possible. I took this mentality with me into the military.”
The T-6B Texan II is a training aircraft that is powered by a 1,100 shaft horsepower, free-turbine, turboprop single-engine, four-bladed propeller, with a cruising speed of 320 mph.
VT-28’s primary mission is to train future naval aviators to fly as well as instill leadership and officer values, Navy officials explained. Students must complete four phases of flight training in order to graduate, including aviation pre-flight indoctrination, primary flight training, and advanced flight training. After successfully completing the rigorous program, naval aviators earn their coveted “Wings of Gold.”
After graduation, pilots continue their training to learn how to fly a specific aircraft, such as the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet fighter attack jet aircraft, the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft or the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. They are later assigned to a ship or land-based squadron.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Wayman plays an important role in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Wayman is most proud of getting through aviation pre-flight indoctrination.
“I had to work really hard and it was definitely the most studying that I ever had to do,” Wayman said. “There is a lot more pressure getting through that than just passing the necessary qualifications.”
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning how to fly aircraft tactically up to Navy standards.
“I enjoy seeing above the clouds and seeing how hard I can push myself,” Wayman said.
Wayman credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Chesepeake.
“Growing up in Chesapeake, a big military community, has made a difference in my life,” Wayman said. “Feeling the patriotism in the area is one of the reasons why I joined the military. Additionally, playing baseball taught me teamwork and made me push myself to limits I never thought was possible. I took this mentality with me into the military.”
The T-6B Texan II is a training aircraft that is powered by a 1,100 shaft horsepower, free-turbine, turboprop single-engine, four-bladed propeller, with a cruising speed of 320 mph.
VT-28’s primary mission is to train future naval aviators to fly as well as instill leadership and officer values, Navy officials explained. Students must complete four phases of flight training in order to graduate, including aviation pre-flight indoctrination, primary flight training, and advanced flight training. After successfully completing the rigorous program, naval aviators earn their coveted “Wings of Gold.”
After graduation, pilots continue their training to learn how to fly a specific aircraft, such as the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet fighter attack jet aircraft, the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft or the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. They are later assigned to a ship or land-based squadron.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Wayman plays an important role in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Wayman is most proud of getting through aviation pre-flight indoctrination.
“I had to work really hard and it was definitely the most studying that I ever had to do,” Wayman said. “There is a lot more pressure getting through that than just passing the necessary qualifications.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Wayman, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Wayman is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather served on submarines during WWII and my sister-in-law is currently a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy,” Wayman said. “This definitely had a big reason why I joined in the Navy in the first place. I’m just glad to be following in their footsteps and serving my country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Wayman and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the Navy gives me a way to show my patriotism,” Wayman said. “I’m living a childhood dream that most people can only think of accomplishing.”