KINGSVILLE, Texas - A 2013 Olmsted Falls High School graduate and Olmsted Falls, Ohio, 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 Richard Rader 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 learning the procedures and skills needed to fly naval aircraft both effectively and efficiently for the fleet.
“My job consists of being prepared to learn and fly the Navy way for whatever training is happening that day,’ Rader said. “Aside from the service to my country, it's challenging and extraordinarily fun. I can't imagine doing anything else.”
Rader credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Olmsted Falls.
“The biggest influence my hometown had on me was participating in athletics,” Rader said. “I was lucky enough to have excellent coaches in three different sports, who were also excellent men and role models.
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.
Rader 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, Rader is most proud of being selected for strike fighter training out of primary flight school.
“It was a summation of a lot of hard work paying off and a lot of support and encouragement from my family, friends and instructors that I have come in contact with over the last two years," Rader said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Rader, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Rader is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My uncle served in the Navy as a pilot and my grandfather served in the Navy as a master chief sonar technician, respectively,” Rader said. “It's one of my favorite things that I cherish because I'm able to carry on that tradition and share my Navy experiences with theirs.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Rader and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“It's very humbling to serve in the Navy, especially through naval aviation, and I get to work with smart, driven people day in and day out,” Rader said. “I love every minute of it and don't know where I would be without out.”
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning the procedures and skills needed to fly naval aircraft both effectively and efficiently for the fleet.
“My job consists of being prepared to learn and fly the Navy way for whatever training is happening that day,’ Rader said. “Aside from the service to my country, it's challenging and extraordinarily fun. I can't imagine doing anything else.”
Rader credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Olmsted Falls.
“The biggest influence my hometown had on me was participating in athletics,” Rader said. “I was lucky enough to have excellent coaches in three different sports, who were also excellent men and role models.
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.
Rader 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, Rader is most proud of being selected for strike fighter training out of primary flight school.
“It was a summation of a lot of hard work paying off and a lot of support and encouragement from my family, friends and instructors that I have come in contact with over the last two years," Rader said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Rader, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Rader is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My uncle served in the Navy as a pilot and my grandfather served in the Navy as a master chief sonar technician, respectively,” Rader said. “It's one of my favorite things that I cherish because I'm able to carry on that tradition and share my Navy experiences with theirs.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Rader and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“It's very humbling to serve in the Navy, especially through naval aviation, and I get to work with smart, driven people day in and day out,” Rader said. “I love every minute of it and don't know where I would be without out.”