Most passengers dont realize the varied backgrounds of the people in the cockpit.
As for me, I went to Navy flight school after graduating college and then flew F/A-18 fighter jets.
I saw combat in four different theaters and eventually became a Navy test pilot.
The problems we work through are different.
I embrace the challenge of navigating turbulence or a line of powerful thunderstorms.
In the Navy, that pressurized decision-making came into play whenever I landed on an aircraft carrier.
Or the time I helped a wingman who lost oil pressure over Iraq.
On a commercial flight, you dont get too many off-script opportunities.
Your job is to provide a safe and predictable flight.
But stuff happens, and it’s possible for you to lean into that wisdom of experience.
