KINGSVILLE, Texas - A 2008 Churchill High School graduate and Eugene, Oregon, 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 |
Lt. Kevin Kelm is a student pilot with the “Redhawks” of Training Squadron (VT) 21, based in Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas. The squadron flies T-45C Goshawk aircraft.
A Navy student pilot is responsible for building a baseline knowledge of Navy jet operations and becoming a tactically proficient pilot in the future.
“I enjoy having the opportunity to combine my passion for aviation with my duty to serve my country,” Kelm said.
Kelm credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Eugene.
“Through high school sports, I learned the key to excellence is hard work and perseverance,” Kelm said.
The T-45C Goshawk is a tandem-seat, jet trainer aircraft powered by a twin-spool non-afterburn turbofan engine with 5,527 pounds of thrust and airspeed of 645 mph.
VT-21’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 many 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 or the F-35 Lightning joint strike fighter jet. 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.
Kelm 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, Kelm is most proud of graduating from the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) course in 2016.
“It represents the result of tireless hard work and dedication to my craft but more importantly, the trust and support from my peers and chain of command from my squadron,” Kelm said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Kelm, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Smith is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“Both of my grandfathers served at least 20 years in the Navy and Marine Corps from WWII and beyond, and my cousin is currently in U.S. Navy flight training," Kelm said. "It means everything to me to be able to follow in their footsteps. I have had the devotion to duty instilled in me at an early age.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Kelm and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“The Navy is unique in that we can mobilize an air, ground and sea military response in a moment’s notice anywhere in the world,” Kelm said. “Being a part of that fighting force is the ultimate.”
A Navy student pilot is responsible for building a baseline knowledge of Navy jet operations and becoming a tactically proficient pilot in the future.
“I enjoy having the opportunity to combine my passion for aviation with my duty to serve my country,” Kelm said.
Kelm credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Eugene.
“Through high school sports, I learned the key to excellence is hard work and perseverance,” Kelm said.
The T-45C Goshawk is a tandem-seat, jet trainer aircraft powered by a twin-spool non-afterburn turbofan engine with 5,527 pounds of thrust and airspeed of 645 mph.
VT-21’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 many 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 or the F-35 Lightning joint strike fighter jet. 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.
Kelm 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, Kelm is most proud of graduating from the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) course in 2016.
“It represents the result of tireless hard work and dedication to my craft but more importantly, the trust and support from my peers and chain of command from my squadron,” Kelm said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Kelm, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Smith is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“Both of my grandfathers served at least 20 years in the Navy and Marine Corps from WWII and beyond, and my cousin is currently in U.S. Navy flight training," Kelm said. "It means everything to me to be able to follow in their footsteps. I have had the devotion to duty instilled in me at an early age.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Kelm and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“The Navy is unique in that we can mobilize an air, ground and sea military response in a moment’s notice anywhere in the world,” Kelm said. “Being a part of that fighting force is the ultimate.”