KINGSVILLE, Texas - A 2012 Desert Mountain High School graduate and Scottsdale, Arizona, native is participating in a rigorous training process that transforms officers into U.S. naval aviators.
Ensign Shane Kravetz 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 being prepared to execute the mission objectives and ultimately complete the training program.
“Besides the experience of flying aircraft, I enjoy the community,” Kravetz said. “Naval aviation is a great community to be a part of and is full of motivated, humble men and women who love what they do.”
Kravetz credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Scottsdale.
“Growing up, I learned self-motivation,” Kravetz said. “My parents weren’t strict with me making good grades or getting into a good college, which taught me to be self driven to achieve my goals.”
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.
Kravetz 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, Kravetz is most proud of being selected to fly jets for the Navy.
“Flying jets for the Navy is extremely competitive to be a part of and I am fortunate to have made it this far,” Kravetz said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Kravetz, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Smith is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My late grandfather was a command sergeant major in the Army and my father was a Navy reservist for several years,” Kravetz said. “It's inspiring to me knowing that my father and grandfather were both apart of the service.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Kravetz 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 my identity, although I haven’t been active duty for long, I have spent almost half of my life getting to this point,” Kravetz said. “It's impacted my life decisions and helped make me the person I am today.”
A Navy student pilot is responsible for being prepared to execute the mission objectives and ultimately complete the training program.
“Besides the experience of flying aircraft, I enjoy the community,” Kravetz said. “Naval aviation is a great community to be a part of and is full of motivated, humble men and women who love what they do.”
Kravetz credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Scottsdale.
“Growing up, I learned self-motivation,” Kravetz said. “My parents weren’t strict with me making good grades or getting into a good college, which taught me to be self driven to achieve my goals.”
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.
Kravetz 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, Kravetz is most proud of being selected to fly jets for the Navy.
“Flying jets for the Navy is extremely competitive to be a part of and I am fortunate to have made it this far,” Kravetz said.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Kravetz, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Smith is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My late grandfather was a command sergeant major in the Army and my father was a Navy reservist for several years,” Kravetz said. “It's inspiring to me knowing that my father and grandfather were both apart of the service.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Kravetz 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 my identity, although I haven’t been active duty for long, I have spent almost half of my life getting to this point,” Kravetz said. “It's impacted my life decisions and helped make me the person I am today.”