KINGSVILLE, Texas - A 2010 Johnstown Senior High School graduate and Johnstown, New York, 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 Craig Darling 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 assimilating and applying knowledge needed to becoming a naval aviator.
“It's rewarding to look back and see the progression I have made to this point in training,” Darling said.
Darling credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Johnstown.
“I had the privilege of living in a small town and knowing my neighbors,” Darling said. “You learn how to lean on other people and help others in their time of need.”
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.
Darling 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, Darling is most proud of his selection into the carrier aviation community.
“There is a very small segment of naval aviators who are selected for this job,” Darling said. “It is considered the most difficult task in the aviator community.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Darling, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Smith is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“Most of my family have enlisted in the Air Force,” Darling said. “I feel it's important to carry on this tradition and having the opportunity to earn my commission, was a huge accomplishment for my family.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Darling 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 is an opportunity to protect what I have found most special about my childhood and about living in the U.S.,” Darling said.
A Navy student pilot is responsible for assimilating and applying knowledge needed to becoming a naval aviator.
“It's rewarding to look back and see the progression I have made to this point in training,” Darling said.
Darling credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Johnstown.
“I had the privilege of living in a small town and knowing my neighbors,” Darling said. “You learn how to lean on other people and help others in their time of need.”
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.
Darling 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, Darling is most proud of his selection into the carrier aviation community.
“There is a very small segment of naval aviators who are selected for this job,” Darling said. “It is considered the most difficult task in the aviator community.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Darling, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Smith is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“Most of my family have enlisted in the Air Force,” Darling said. “I feel it's important to carry on this tradition and having the opportunity to earn my commission, was a huge accomplishment for my family.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Darling 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 is an opportunity to protect what I have found most special about my childhood and about living in the U.S.,” Darling said.