By Navy Office of Community Outreach
A Redmond native is playing a key role in the lengthy and rigorous training process that transforms new U.S. Navy officers into naval aviators.
First Lt. Robert Weede is a Marine student pilot with the “Rangers” Navy Training Squadron (VT-27), based in Corpus Christi, Texas, that operates the T-6B Texan II aircraft. As a student pilot, Weede is responsible for becoming proficient in flying Navy and Marine Corps aircraft to ensures his ability to be able to complete flight operations successfully in the fleet.
“I enjoy the challenges that being a pilot provides,” said Weede, a 2010 Inglemoor High graduate. “It can be difficult at times but it is very rewarding.”
The T-6B Texan is a training aircraft that is powered by a 1,100 shaft horsepower, free-turbine, turboprop single-engine, four-bladed propeller, with a cruising speed of 310 mph.
VT-27’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 four 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 strike fighter jet, the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft or the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. They are later assigned to a ship or land-based squadron.
Many of these pilots will fly aircraft which take off from and land aboard aircraft carriers and other aviation and air-capable ships, a unique capability which allows Naval Air Forces to operate integrally with surface forces anywhere on the world’s oceans. Recently, Navy strike aircraft operating from aircraft carriers sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and from Middle East waters have launched hundreds of missions against terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s squadrons with the newest aircraft platforms, Weede said he and other VT-27 sailors are proud to be part of a warfighting team that readily defends America at all times.
“I really like working with the people in this command,” said Weede. “Everyone here is competing but supporting eachother so we can reach our max potential and become the best pilots in the fleet.”
Jobs are highly varied at VT-27, according to Navy officials. Approximately 60 men and women officers and 15 civilian employees, make up and keep all parts of the squadron running smoothly — this includes everything from training the new aviators, maintaining airframes and engines, processing paperwork, along with handling and flying the aircraft.
“What the men and women of this squadron accomplish every day is nothing short of miraculous,” explained Cmdr. Corbett Dixon, commanding officer of VT-27. “The students are in the process of moving from just another college graduate in society, to someone who sacrifices their own time and effort for society. That’s what it means to serve in the Navy. That’s what they’re learning as they learn to fly. And the staff here, the instructor pilots and civilians, put in an amazing amount of effort day in and day out, to ensure that we send the best young men and women forward to serve our nation, with all the skills, dedication and integrity necessary to serve successfully.”
Serving in the military, Weede is learning about being a more responsible leader, Marine and person through handling numerous responsibilities.
“Serving has helped me realize that I can overcome, what seems like the most difficult challenges,” said Weede. “I’ve gained a sense of work ethic to push through when I think I can’t do any more and achieve what I put my mind to.”
