KINGSVILLE, Texas - A 2009 Community Baptist Christian High School graduate and South Bend, Indiana, 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. Tyler Radke 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 to fly naval aircraft while handling new and unexpected situations in the ever-changing environment of naval aviation.
“I enjoy the daily challenges that naval aviation brings,” Radke said. “It's an environment that continually changes and it forces you to make decisions in a critical manner that some day, could save your life.”
Radke credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in South Bend.
“I was fortunate enough to work numerous jobs throughout high school and college, whether working as a mechanic, being on a race team or doing landscaping,” Radke said. “They all involved attention to detail and bringing that skill to the Navy has paid dividends.”
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.
Radke 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, Radke is most proud of receiving a commander’s coin for his superior performance from his commanding officer at his previous unit in the Indiana Air National Guard.
“To be personally recognized by my commanding officer for a job well done was unexpected but awesome,” Radke said. “I felt like I was just doing my job like everyone else that I worked with, but it just goes to show you that taking pride in your work and doing your best in everything that you do does get recognized.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Radke, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Radke is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather served in the Army Air Corps as a hospital corpsman during WWII and my father was a naval aviator that flew the E2-C Hawkeye aircraft,” Radke said. “Being able to keep the military tradition by serving in the Navy has been a really cool experience. I even had the privilege of going to primary flight school at the same base as my father did when he was in the Navy, and being able to connect with him on naval aviation has been of the coolest things in my life.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Radke 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 and being a part of a community that is steeped in so much history and tradition is an absolute honor,” Radke said. “Additionally, having the opportunity to be in naval aviation is even more unique as there has been approximately 170,000 naval aviators since the beginning of naval aviation, and even fewer had the privilege of landing on an aircraft carrier.”
A Navy student pilot is responsible for learning to fly naval aircraft while handling new and unexpected situations in the ever-changing environment of naval aviation.
“I enjoy the daily challenges that naval aviation brings,” Radke said. “It's an environment that continually changes and it forces you to make decisions in a critical manner that some day, could save your life.”
Radke credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in South Bend.
“I was fortunate enough to work numerous jobs throughout high school and college, whether working as a mechanic, being on a race team or doing landscaping,” Radke said. “They all involved attention to detail and bringing that skill to the Navy has paid dividends.”
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.
Radke 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, Radke is most proud of receiving a commander’s coin for his superior performance from his commanding officer at his previous unit in the Indiana Air National Guard.
“To be personally recognized by my commanding officer for a job well done was unexpected but awesome,” Radke said. “I felt like I was just doing my job like everyone else that I worked with, but it just goes to show you that taking pride in your work and doing your best in everything that you do does get recognized.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Radke, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Radke is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather served in the Army Air Corps as a hospital corpsman during WWII and my father was a naval aviator that flew the E2-C Hawkeye aircraft,” Radke said. “Being able to keep the military tradition by serving in the Navy has been a really cool experience. I even had the privilege of going to primary flight school at the same base as my father did when he was in the Navy, and being able to connect with him on naval aviation has been of the coolest things in my life.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Radke 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 and being a part of a community that is steeped in so much history and tradition is an absolute honor,” Radke said. “Additionally, having the opportunity to be in naval aviation is even more unique as there has been approximately 170,000 naval aviators since the beginning of naval aviation, and even fewer had the privilege of landing on an aircraft carrier.”