CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 2013 New Kent High School graduate and New Kent, Virginia, native is participating in a rigorous training process that transforms officers into U.S. naval aviators.
 |
| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Finley |
Ensign Chris Rolince is a student pilot with the “Stingrays” of Training Squadron (VT) 35, 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 safely operate naval aircraft with mission-essential equipment onboard and execute missions and tasks both effectively and efficiently.
“I enjoy the challenge of operating an aircraft in coordination with other crew members and air traffic control on the ground,” Rolince said.
Rolince credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in New Kent.
“The hard-working mindset that I learned from my family as well as my community as a whole, has made me both a better student and leader,” Rolince 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-35’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.
Rolince 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, Rolince is most proud of successfully completing his maritime advanced training syllabus that comes with earning his Wings of Gold.
“It is without a doubt the most difficult thing that I have ever done because of the incredible high standards to which we as student pilots, are held at on a daily basis,” Rolince said. “I am proud to join the elite group of naval aviators that have gone before me.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Rolince, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Rolince is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather, from my mother's side, was enlisted during the Korean War and my other grandfather was a seabee in WWII,” Rolince said. “My uncle is a colonel in the Army and my father is also a naval aviator. It’s a tremendous honor to be able to carry on this family tradition of military service.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Rolince and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“It’s a great honor to be able to serve this wonderful country, and I’m excited for the challenge of leading the men and women who I will be in charge of,” Rolince said.
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning how to safely operate naval aircraft with mission-essential equipment onboard and execute missions and tasks both effectively and efficiently.
“I enjoy the challenge of operating an aircraft in coordination with other crew members and air traffic control on the ground,” Rolince said.
Rolince credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in New Kent.
“The hard-working mindset that I learned from my family as well as my community as a whole, has made me both a better student and leader,” Rolince 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-35’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.
Rolince 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, Rolince is most proud of successfully completing his maritime advanced training syllabus that comes with earning his Wings of Gold.
“It is without a doubt the most difficult thing that I have ever done because of the incredible high standards to which we as student pilots, are held at on a daily basis,” Rolince said. “I am proud to join the elite group of naval aviators that have gone before me.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Rolince, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Rolince is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather, from my mother's side, was enlisted during the Korean War and my other grandfather was a seabee in WWII,” Rolince said. “My uncle is a colonel in the Army and my father is also a naval aviator. It’s a tremendous honor to be able to carry on this family tradition of military service.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Rolince and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“It’s a great honor to be able to serve this wonderful country, and I’m excited for the challenge of leading the men and women who I will be in charge of,” Rolince said.