A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots, but they may perform many "co-pilot" or "mission specialist" functions, depending on the type of aircraft. Until 1966, their duties were performed by both commissioned officer and senior enlisted naval aviation observers (NAO).
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island, at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NBC), and the home port of several aircraft carriers of the United States Navy.
Naval Air Station Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The base is under the jurisdiction of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and is the headquarters of Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic and Carrier Air Wings 1, 3, 7 and 8. As home to all east coast strike fighter jet squadrons, the Naval Air Station is classified as a master jet base. The airfield is known as Apollo Soucek Field, named after Lieutenant Apollo Soucek, a Navy Test Pilot who set the global altitude record in 1930 by flying a Curtiss "Hawk" biplane to an altitude of 43,166 feet.
Admiral Thomas Bibb Hayward was Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy from July 1, 1978, until June 30, 1982, after which he retired from military service.
Billy C. Sanders is a retired senior sailor of the United States Navy who served as the fifth Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.
John Donaldson Whittet was a senior sailor in the United States Navy who served as the second Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.
Apollo Soucek was a vice admiral in the United States Navy, who was a record-breaking test pilot during 1929 and 1930, served in World War II, and was commander of Carrier Division Three during the Korean War, ending his career as chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.
Training Squadron TEN (VT-10) is a training squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron is homebased at NAS Pensacola, Florida.
Training Squadron EIGHT SIX (VT-86), also known as the "Sabrehawks," is a United States Navy advanced jet training squadron based at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Training Squadron 86 is a tenant command of Training Air Wing 6. They are a training squadron flying the T-45C Goshawk. Their tailcode is F and their radio callsign is ROKT.
Neil W. Woodward III is an American Naval officer and a former NASA astronaut.
George John Dufek was an American naval officer, naval aviator, and polar expert. He served in World War II and the Korean War and in the 1940s and 1950s spent much of his career in the Antarctic, first with Admiral Byrd and later as supervisor of U.S. programs in the South Polar regions. Rear Admiral Dufek was the director of the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia after his retirement from the Navy in 1959.
Admiral Richard Michael Dunleavy is a retired US naval officer. He retired as a two-star rear admiral in 1992 after being demoted from the rank of three-star vice admiral as a result of the Tailhook scandal.
Walter Edward "Ted" Carter Jr. is an American retired United States Navy vice admiral and Naval Flight Officer and current academic administrator who is the president of the University of Nebraska System. Carter was confirmed by the university's board of regents as the eighth permanent president of the university on Dec. 5, 2019. He was the 62nd superintendent of the United States Naval Academy and 54th president of the U.S. Naval War College.
The US Navy had four programs for the training of naval aviators.
James Edward Service was a vice admiral of the United States Navy active during much of the Cold War. A naval aviator, he flew combat missions in the Korean War and Vietnam War, commanded aviation units and various ships including aircraft carriers, served as a test pilot, and was President of the Naval War College.
William Virginius Davis Jr. was a vice admiral in the United States Navy.
Frederick Charles Turner was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice admiral. Turner began his career as Reservist and Naval aviator during World War II and distinguished himself during Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in early 1945. Following the War, Turner remained in the Navy and commanded aircraft carrier USS America during Vietnam War.
Thomas Albert Cropper is an American retired United States Navy rear admiral and academic administrator serving as president of the California State University Maritime Academy. Cropper was appointed on July 1, 2012 with the rank of honorary rear admiral in the U.S. Maritime Service.
Dell David Bull is a retired United States Navy Rear Admiral and Naval Flight Officer bombardier/navigator currently assigned as Deputy Director for Operations and Intelligence Integration at the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO). He previously served as Special Assistant for Naval Air Systems Command in Washington, D.C. From July 2015 to June 2017, Bull was Chief of Naval Air Training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
