CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 2005 Stewart County High School and Clarksville, Tennessee, native is playing a key role in the lengthy and rigorous training process that transforms officers into U.S. naval aviators.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Finley |
Lt. John Ryan is an instructor pilot with the “Wise Owls” of Training Squadron (VT) 31, based in Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. The squadron flies the T-44C Pegasus aircraft.
A Navy instructor pilot is responsible for providing guidance, instruction and evaluation of future Naval, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard aviators.
“I enjoy watching the students learn, as well as the flying and travel,” Ryan said.
Ryan credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Clarksville.
“I learned from my parents to respect everyone from all walks of life, which is important in the Navy,” Ryan said.
The T-44C Pegasus is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane used for advanced turboprop radar aircraft training using two 550 shaft horse-powered engines, with a cruising airspeed of 287 mph.
VT-31’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 P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft or the Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. 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.
Ryan 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, Ryan is most proud of being selected as Mission Commander and receiving an Air Medal for leading the crew.
“I’m proud of that because it took a lot of hard work from everyone on the crew and I am honored to have been selected to lead them,” Ryan said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Ryan, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Ryan is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather was in the Navy and my father was a pilot in the Army,” Ryan said. “His stories of flying inspired me to want to fly and serve my country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Ryan 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 means contributing to something bigger than myself,” Ryan said.
A Navy instructor pilot is responsible for providing guidance, instruction and evaluation of future Naval, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard aviators.
“I enjoy watching the students learn, as well as the flying and travel,” Ryan said.
Ryan credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Clarksville.
“I learned from my parents to respect everyone from all walks of life, which is important in the Navy,” Ryan said.
The T-44C Pegasus is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane used for advanced turboprop radar aircraft training using two 550 shaft horse-powered engines, with a cruising airspeed of 287 mph.
VT-31’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 P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft or the Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. 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.
Ryan 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, Ryan is most proud of being selected as Mission Commander and receiving an Air Medal for leading the crew.
“I’m proud of that because it took a lot of hard work from everyone on the crew and I am honored to have been selected to lead them,” Ryan said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Ryan, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Ryan is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather was in the Navy and my father was a pilot in the Army,” Ryan said. “His stories of flying inspired me to want to fly and serve my country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Ryan 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 means contributing to something bigger than myself,” Ryan said.