NAVY PILOT!!!

[92562]

Proud does not come close to describing how I feel right now. My son grew up dreaming of being a navy pilot. My Mom and Dad would take him to every open cockpit day at March Air Base as he grew up. Unfortunately, he got my wife's vision. By the time he was 16 his prescription was a +8.5 and knew that flying for the Navy was not going to be possible. After taking a year off after high school, he joined the Navy with the goal of becoming a Nuclear Engineer. He was 2 months from graduating the program when he was selected to attend the Naval Academy. Since he was enlisted he had to spend one year at the Naval Academy Prep School (where he made lifelong friends). While at NAPS, he learned that in your junior year, the Navy fixes your vision with Lasik or RFPK if your vision is worse than 20/30. That was great and all but he then learned that he would qualify to be a pilot once he was 20/20! Flash forward to last year and he learned that he had a SLAP tear in his right shoulder from years of Okinawan weapons training, swimming and weight lifting. No longer was he cleared for flight. At the end of summer he had surgery on the shoulder and once again, is cleared to fly.

Today is Service Selection at the Academy and it is official, our son will be a Navy Pilot!

 

[monkeyswrench]

That is cool! Perseverance and a strong mental attitude pays off!
Parents and son have every right to be proud.

 

[Ducksquasher]

Wow...congrats to you all!

 

[CLdrinker]

Awesome

 

[regor]

Congrats, that is no small feat!!!!

 

[ElAzul]

Because we were inverted...

 

[C-2]

So bitchen, great job! Even though I don't personally know you guys, I feel proud for you and your son.

 

[Kbach]

Good job Mom and Dad

 

[Liberated]

BADASS!!!

 

[Outdrive1]

Awesomeness!

 

[Go-Fly]

This made my day.

 

[bonesfab]

Right on. Good job dad.

 

[Tamalewagon]

out f'ing standing.

 

[coolchange]

He looks like a Navy pilot.

 

[retaocleg]

awesome, outstanding young man.......proud to have a young man like that serving our country!

 

[PayDayClub]

job well done

 

[rivergames]

Excellent!

 

[92562]

He looks like a Navy pilot.

I know, right? My wife even uses the theme to Top Gun as his ringtone!

 

[bocco]

Very proud day. Glad to see the persistence paid off.

 

[HCP3]

Great story. Congrats.

 

[SkyDirtWaterguy]

Congrats to your son!! Good luck to him and all that he will accomplish in his future.

 

[H20 Toie]

That is so awesome

 

[PRIMO]

COOL......

 

[mbrown2]

Wow....Awesome...when only 1% can make it to that level and it means even more with the setbacks he had!

 

[Desert Whaler]

Awesome!!!

 

[Riverhound]

CONGRATULATIONS to him and Mom and Dad... What an amazing accomplishment

 

[OC Mike]

F---ing AWESOME.....
I love a happy ending..

 

[Xring01]

It very rewarding to see your kids achieve their goals…
Congrats…

 

[havasuhusker]

That kicks ass! Perseverance pays off. Congratulations to your son and good luck in his flying career.

 

[attitude]

Bad ass, congrats!

 

[Boat211]

That is about as good as it gets. So happy for him as it's been a life long dream. Congratulations to him and your family.

 

[Letsride22]

Wow, one of the elite for sure. Congrats.

 

[cole_skier]

That is amazing! Congratulations to your whole family and thank you to your son for his service to his country.

 

[wallnutz]

Congrats to him. Hard work pays off, sounds like you put in some work over the years guiding this young man. So congrats to you and your wife too.

 

[rightytighty]

Congrats!

I think that would be a bucket list career for any person who loves machinery, including every single board member here.

Not sure who who is more proud. Dad, Son or maybe both equally?

 

[Bpracing1127]

I had a dream of becoming a navy pilot too, but like your son I have bad vision that I can’t fix. This is awesome!!!!! I feel proud to be an American cuz of this picture

 

[92562]

Congrats!

I think that would be a bucket list career for any person who loves machinery, including every single board member here.

Not sure who who is more proud. Dad, Son or maybe both equally?

As a lifelong boater, his major is actually Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He designed an offshore racing cat as a Capstone project.

And, I can't seem to get this smile off my face!

 

[ToMorrow44]

Proud does not come close to describing how I feel right now. My son grew up dreaming of being a navy pilot. My Mom and Dad would take him to every open cockpit day at March Air Base as he grew up. Unfortunately, he got my wife's vision. By the time he was 16 his prescription was a +8.5 and knew that flying for the Navy was not going to be possible. After taking a year off after high school, he joined the Navy with the goal of becoming a Nuclear Engineer. He was 2 months from graduating the program when he was selected to attend the Naval Academy. Since he was enlisted he had to spend one year at the Naval Academy Prep School (where he made lifelong friends). While at NAPS, he learned that in your junior year, the Navy fixes your vision with Lasik or RFPK if your vision is worse than 20/30. That was great and all but he then learned that he would qualify to be a pilot once he was 20/20! Flash forward to last year and he learned that he had a SLAP tear in his right shoulder from years of Okinawan weapons training, swimming and weight lifting. No longer was he cleared for flight. At the end of summer he had surgery on the shoulder and once again, is cleared to fly.

Today is Service Selection at the Academy and it is official, our son will be a Navy Pilot!

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Congrats to your son!! I was also told “no” to Flight School more times than I can count, kept going until I got a yes. He’s going to have a blast in Pensacola!

Picture from winging ceremony:

 

[RichL]

What a great story. Congratulations to all.

 

[MK1MOD0]

Congrats. That’s AWSOME!

 

[Hardly Satisfied]

That’s awesome, congratulations

 

[SBMech]

Shit I am proud as fuck for you and your son!

Elite does not even come close, he's in the .001% of the nation like a Seal!

Great job as a family !

Congrats!

 

[Done-it-again]

Bad Ass!!!!! Congrats....

 

[500bbc]

Proud does not come close to describing how I feel right now. My son grew up dreaming of being a navy pilot. My Mom and Dad would take him to every open cockpit day at March Air Base as he grew up. Unfortunately, he got my wife's vision. By the time he was 16 his prescription was a +8.5 and knew that flying for the Navy was not going to be possible. After taking a year off after high school, he joined the Navy with the goal of becoming a Nuclear Engineer. He was 2 months from graduating the program when he was selected to attend the Naval Academy. Since he was enlisted he had to spend one year at the Naval Academy Prep School (where he made lifelong friends). While at NAPS, he learned that in your junior year, the Navy fixes your vision with Lasik or RFPK if your vision is worse than 20/30. That was great and all but he then learned that he would qualify to be a pilot once he was 20/20! Flash forward to last year and he learned that he had a SLAP tear in his right shoulder from years of Okinawan weapons training, swimming and weight lifting. No longer was he cleared for flight. At the end of summer he had surgery on the shoulder and once again, is cleared to fly.

Today is Service Selection at the Academy and it is official, our son will be a Navy Pilot!

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Outstanding!

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Awesome news! Congrats!

Always was my dream job growing up, but yah can’t fix color blindness unfortunately.

 

[Aces & Eights]

You must be beaming with pride. I’m excited for you, your family and that amazing son of yours.

 

[Mike K]

Lived at Bainbridge NTC ... Where NAPS was … my dad was center commander back in the day.
Great life for me as a dependant.
You gotta be major proud of him !
So happy for you and him .
Cheers.

 

[Dunerking]

Congrats to your son and a clear example of never giving up!

 

[DWC]

Impressive AF. Congrats.

 

[SJP]

What a proud moment for a parent and an honor for your son. Sooo awesome!