CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 2013 Deer Park High School graduate and Deer Park, Texas, native is participating in a rigorous training process that transforms officers into U.S. naval aviators.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Finley |
Ensign Brandon Pullig is a student 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 student pilot is responsible for learning how to fly mulit-engine aircraft and working together as a team with the flight crew.
“I enjoy the camaraderie because we are all helping each other become the best naval aviators that we can be,” Pullig said. “The feeling of freedom when flying amongst the clouds is unmatched.”
Pullig credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Deer Park.
“The morals and values instilled in me by my parents helped set me up for success and to never quit in achieving my goals in life,” Pullig said.
The T-44C Pegasus is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane used for advanced turboprop radar aircraft training using two 550 shaft horsepowered 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 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.
Pullig 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, Pullig is most proud of completing all the qualifications needed to receive his Wings of Gold.
“It's been an accumulation of many years of hard work and tireless study, along with the endless support of my friends and family along the way,” Pullig said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Pullig, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Pullig is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather was in the Army and my uncle currently serves in the Marine Corps,” Pullig said. “I'm incredibly humble to carry on the family name serving my country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Pullig and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I have a great sense of pride and accomplishment serving my country,” Pullig said. “I make my family proud working for a greater cause.”
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning how to fly mulit-engine aircraft and working together as a team with the flight crew.
“I enjoy the camaraderie because we are all helping each other become the best naval aviators that we can be,” Pullig said. “The feeling of freedom when flying amongst the clouds is unmatched.”
Pullig credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Deer Park.
“The morals and values instilled in me by my parents helped set me up for success and to never quit in achieving my goals in life,” Pullig said.
The T-44C Pegasus is a twin-engine, pressurized, fixed-wing monoplane used for advanced turboprop radar aircraft training using two 550 shaft horsepowered 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 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.
Pullig 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, Pullig is most proud of completing all the qualifications needed to receive his Wings of Gold.
“It's been an accumulation of many years of hard work and tireless study, along with the endless support of my friends and family along the way,” Pullig said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Pullig, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Pullig is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather was in the Army and my uncle currently serves in the Marine Corps,” Pullig said. “I'm incredibly humble to carry on the family name serving my country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Pullig and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I have a great sense of pride and accomplishment serving my country,” Pullig said. “I make my family proud working for a greater cause.”