26/06/2017
We are back with a summer training feature! D-8 Commander MIDN Luke Johnston has just completed summer training for Navy ROTC. As the summer progresses and more of our members finish training we will have more features to help showcase the amazing opportunities our members get over the summer.
For this feature we decided to ask the CO about his training.
Where did you go for your Navy Summer Training?
I was lucky enough to get a 1/C aviation cruise with a helicopter squadron. I was with the HSC-5 Nightdippers based out of Norfolk, VA from May 30th to June 23rd and during that time we were able to spend a week on a Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), to see how flying onto and off of the flight deck felt and to take part in the daily life of a pilot while at sea. The rest of the time was spent at Naval Station Norfolk observing and taking part in all squadron activities from daily pre-flight briefs and maintenance work to flying in the helicopter. It was a once in a lifetime experience!
What was your favorite memory from your training?
While there were a lot of memorable moments during training, my favorite memory that really stands out is the hour and a half of flight time in the front seat that I got. During this time they fly you up front with an experienced pilot. You’re plugged into all of the radio coms and can hear everything going on from the flight tower to other aircraft to the crew on board the helicopter. Once you acclimate yourself to all of the noise the pilot then lets you take the controls and all of the sudden you’re flying it. A lot of people think flying helicopters is uneventful because they aren’t as fast as jets, but when you’re 300 feet over the Chesapeake bay and need to descend down to 30 feet over the surface and coordinate with the crew the whole way through so that the aircraft doesn’t hit the surface or spiral out of control, it gets pretty exciting. When you fly in a helicopter there are usually two crew personnel in the back and one co-pilot. I never realized that in the front seat you can barely see around the aircraft so you need to heavily rely on the crew to be your eyes and to talk you down into a landing and all of the in-flight maneuvers. Because the crew places their lives in the hands of the pilots and the pilots place theirs in the crew, there is a very close bond built between the whole unit who need to trust each other and rely on each other in order to fly the aircraft. It is more of a team effort than you might think. For me this memory just further solidified in my mind that flying for the Navy is what I want to do.
What are some leadership lessons you learned?
While talking to the officers at HSC-5, they gave out some great advice about leadership when it comes to being a pilot. The lesson boiled down to three points: if you want to be a good pilot and leader you need to be a good stick, be good at your ground job, and be a good person. Be a good stick means you should actually be good at flying the aircraft. The crew that you work with and other pilots you fly with will trust you more and respect you more if they feel comfortable with you flying. If you put in the hard work to master being a good pilot you will be trusted by your peers. Be good at your ground job means being able to effectively handle the responsibilities of whichever job the squadron gives which is separate from your job of flying. This ground job could be admin, PAO, safety, etc. If you take care of the enlisted who work with you at your ground job and are on top of your tasks, you will demonstrate to others that you are able to handle a steady workload alongside your responsibilities as a pilot and you will demonstrate to those working with you that you care. Lastly, be a good person is just as it sounds. Don’t try to throw people under the bus to make yourself look better and genuinely just care about what you do.
What advice do you have for other members going on summer training?
My advice to those going on any training, not just Navy aviation, is to take advantage of it and to get outside of your comfort zone. Even if you didn’t get the summer training you wanted, you never know what might happen that could change your outlook on a specific aspect of the military. Put yourself out there and utilize your time and you won’t regret it.
