are you / were you a fighter pilot? (Navy)

[Techtonics]

share you experience with us, what is it like

[flynavyj]

Only in my dreams...then I wake up.

[SluggoF16]

22 years of flying fighters here. It's hard to describe; for instance, there's a certain detachment from the reality of what's happening when you observe anti-aircraft artillery coming your way, or see a SAM at night in the air. It's not up close and personal, the way it is for soldiers on the ground. I just reacted the way I was trained.

Since I was USAF I never got to do that thing that is truly a great piece of airmanship and skill, and that's land on a carrier.

[smpliving]

My brother is a retired Navy pilot, having served in Desert Storm. He never really talks much about his experiences to us (his family).