CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 2011 Mustang High School graduate and Mustang, Oklahoma, 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. j.g. Morgan Shannon 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 multi-engine naval aircraft.
“I enjoy how intense the training is,” Shannon said. “I like being up in the clouds and that is the reason why I got into aviation, to live a lifelong dream.”
Shannon credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Mustang.
“The morals and values instilled in me by my parents made me a better person because it set me up for success and strengthened my leadership skills,” Shannon 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.
Shannon 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, Shannon is most proud of working for six months at the National Naval Aviation Museum as the military volunteer coordinator.
“Working there gave me a lot of respect for the history of naval aviation,” Shannon said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Shannon, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Shannon is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“I'm seventh-generation Navy,” Shannon said. “All of my family members who served did so in the Navy, with the exception of my brother who was in the Marine Corps. I'm the first officer and naval aviator and it's great to carry on the family tradition serving our country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Shannon and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I'm setting a good example for women to show that it is possible to become a part of the best naval aviation force in the world,” Shannon said.
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning how to fly multi-engine naval aircraft.
“I enjoy how intense the training is,” Shannon said. “I like being up in the clouds and that is the reason why I got into aviation, to live a lifelong dream.”
Shannon credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Mustang.
“The morals and values instilled in me by my parents made me a better person because it set me up for success and strengthened my leadership skills,” Shannon 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.
Shannon 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, Shannon is most proud of working for six months at the National Naval Aviation Museum as the military volunteer coordinator.
“Working there gave me a lot of respect for the history of naval aviation,” Shannon said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Shannon, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Shannon is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“I'm seventh-generation Navy,” Shannon said. “All of my family members who served did so in the Navy, with the exception of my brother who was in the Marine Corps. I'm the first officer and naval aviator and it's great to carry on the family tradition serving our country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Shannon and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I'm setting a good example for women to show that it is possible to become a part of the best naval aviation force in the world,” Shannon said.