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Lessons From The Cockpit

104 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratings

The Lessons from the Cockpit Show sits down with standout pilots, dedicated aircrew, skilled maintainers, and passionate aviation buffs from different parts of the world. Our focus is on the lessons drawn from their diverse experiences in military, commercial, and general aviation.

You're tuning into firsthand accounts, raw and unfiltered, many stories have never been spoken beyond the confines of a cockpit or a debrief room. For our guests this isn’t just about sharing; it’s a chance to truly be heard, find healing lessons, gain perspective and closure to the sometimes extreme and extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

It's all about the takeaways - the critical thinking nuggets that can shape how we tackle any challenge we face in life. So, buckle up, grab an adult beverage of your choice, and join me as we embark on another episode of the Lessons From The Cockpit Show.

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Episodes

Leave No One Behind with MH-47 pilot CWO Greg Calvert

August 12, 2022 17:35 - 1 hour - 116 MB

Welcome to the sixth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit series on Operation Anaconda and the Battle of Roberts Ridge. Chief Warrant Officer Greg Calvert's MH-47 helicopter crew lifted off as RAZOR 1 with a Quick Reaction Force of Army Rangers in the back.  His landing zone was the top of Takur Ghar mountain in an attempt to save Roberts and SEAL Team MAKO 30. RAZOR 1's crew did not know the extent of what was happening atop the mountain flaring for landing. Greg shares his story and l...

Leave No One Behind with 160th SOAR pilot Al Mack

August 09, 2022 04:42 - 1 hour - 127 MB

Welcome to the thirty-fifth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! In the fifth part of our series on the Battle of Roberts Ridge we talk with Warrant Officer Al Mack, the pilot of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment MH-47 Chinook callsign RAZOR 3 delivering SEAL Team MAKO 30 to the top of Takur Ghar mountain at 3:30 am Monday morning 4 March 2002. His Chinook comes under heavy fire from enemy forces and SEAL Neil Roberts falls off the back ramp, which begins the desper...

Leave No One Behind (5) with 160th SOAR pilot Al Mack

August 09, 2022 04:42 - 1 hour - 129 MB

Welcome to the thirty-fifth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! In the fifth part of our series on the Battle of Roberts Ridge we talk with Warrant Officer Al Mack, the pilot of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment MH-47 Chinook callsign RAZOR 3 delivering SEAL Team MAKO 30 to the top of Takur Ghar mountain at 3:30 am Monday morning 4 March 2002. His Chinook comes under heavy fire from enemy forces and SEAL Neil Roberts falls off the back ramp, which begins the desper...

Leave No One Behind with RAZOR 3 pilot Al Mack

August 09, 2022 03:22 - 1 hour - 127 MB

Welcome to the thirty-fifth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! In the fifth part of our series on the Battle of Roberts Ridge we talk with Warrant Officer Al Mack, the pilot of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment MH-47 Chinook callsign RAZOR 3 delivering SEAL Team MAKO 30 to the top of Takur Ghar mountain at 3:30 am Monday morning 4 March 2002. His Chinook comes under heavy fire from enemy forces and SEAL Neil Roberts falls off the back ramp, which begins the despe...

Leave No One Behind with Mark Hasara

August 04, 2022 03:02 - 1 hour - 129 MB

Welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast and our series on the Battle of Roberts Ridge and Operation Anaconda. Arriving in Saudi Arabia on my wife's birthday in 2002, I jumped right into running a team of air refueling professionals. In mid-February, all of us in the Prince Sultan Combined Aerospace Operations Center were hearing about some snake-like operation. Because my Air Refueling Control Team had just accomplished two big "science projects" we felt good. No...

Operation Anaconda Air Mobility with Colonel Geno Redmon

July 26, 2022 22:00 - 1 hour - 97.9 MB

Welcome to the thirty-third episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! One of the greatest assets US leadership owns is the ability to move patients, cargo, and relief supplies anywhere on the planet literally in twenty-four hours. It's all done from one place! Colonel Geno Redmon was my KC-135 Squadron Commander in Okinawa Japan during the mid-90s. As Vice Commander of Air Mobility Command's Tanker Airlift Control Center on 9/11, Geno tells us how air mobility operations were planne...

A-10 Ops in Anaconda with Col Scott "Soup" Campbell

July 21, 2022 01:03 - 1 hour - 134 MB

Welcome to this episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast, and it's a great one! This is the second of six episodes on Operation Anaconda and the Battle of Roberts Ridge. Colonel Scott "Soup" Campbell has the distinction of being awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses in four days during the Battle of Roberts Ridge and Operation Anaconda "for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight" in the Air Force A-10 Warthog. Graduating from the Air Force Wea...

The Battle of Roberts Ridge with Colonel Matt "El Cid" Neuenswander

July 14, 2022 03:04 - 55 minutes - 76.8 MB

Welcome to the first episode of a six-part series of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast on the Battle of Roberts Ridge, episode number 31! At approximately 3 am on Monday 4 March 2002 a 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment or SOAR MH-47 Chinook helicopter approached the top of Takur Ghar mountain, a critical piece of high terrain looking over the Shah-i-Kot Valley of Afghanistan. SEAL Team Six Petty Officer Neal Roberts fell off the Chinook ramp as Al Qaeda fighters opened fire on t...

Roberts Ridge with Col Matt "El Cid" Neuenswander

July 14, 2022 02:57 - 55 minutes - 76.8 MB

Welcome to the first episode of a six-part series of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast on the Battle of Roberts Ridge, episode number 31! At approximately 3 am on Monday 4 March 2002 a 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment or SOAR MH-47 Chinook helicopter approached the top of Takur Ghar mountain, a critical piece of high terrain looking over the Shah-i-Kot Valley of Afghanistan. SEAL Team Six Petty Officer Neal Roberts fell off the Chinook ramp as Al Qaeda fighters opened fire on ...

Review of the movie TOPGUN Maverick

July 05, 2022 07:01 - 1 hour - 95.1 MB

Welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast, episode number 30! I'm asked several times a day "Have you seen the movie"... of course referring to TOPGUN Maverick. Of course I have, the opening night! During this review, I talk about the Air Force's TOPGUN school, the US Air Force Weapons School based out of Nellis Air Force Base north of Las Vegas. Attendance to the Weapons School is by a competitive review board of each applicant. Often graduates or "Patch Wearers" ...

TOPGUN Maverick Review

July 05, 2022 06:55 - 1 hour - 95.1 MB

Welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast, episode number 30! I'm asked several times a day "Have you seen the movie"... of course referring to TOPGUN Maverick. Of course I have, the opening night! During this review, I talk about the Air Force's TOPGUN school, the US Air Force Weapons School based out of Nellis Air Force Base north of Las Vegas. Attendance to the Weapons School is by a competitive review board of each applicant. Often graduates or "Patch Wearers...

Leadership with Navy Hornet Pilot Dave "Mongo" Koss

June 30, 2022 21:49 - 1 hour - 102 MB

Thanks for joining us today and welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! On today's show U.S. Navy Captain and F-18 fighter pilot Captain Dave "Mongo" Koss discusses leading the opening night strike packages of Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan and a year later executing several of the longest combat air patrol and strike missions near Baghdad in the opening week of Iraqi Freedom's Shock and Awe air campaign. Mongo also takes us behind the scenes of what it takes ...

Leadership with Navy Hornet pilot Dave "Mongo" Koss

June 30, 2022 18:58 - 1 hour - 102 MB

Thanks for joining us today and welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! On today's show U.S. Navy Captain and F-18 fighter pilot Captain Dave "Mongo" Koss discusses leading the opening night strike packages of Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan and a year later executing several of the longest combat air patrol and strike missions near Baghdad in the opening week of Iraqi Freedom's Shock and Awe air campaign. Mongo also takes us behind the scenes of what it takes...

Triple MiG Killer Colonel Cesar "Rico" Rodriguez

June 21, 2022 22:10 - 1 hour - 143 MB

Welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! An opening line in the new TOPGUN Maverick movie is so appropriate for this episode. Our lessons learned discussion is with MiG Killer US Air Force retired Colonel Cesar "Rico" Rodriguez, an A-10 Hawg and F-15 Eagle pilot who DOES have three MiG kills in forty years. Rico tells the story of his two kills during  Desert Storm in 1991 and the opening night of Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999. He also shares lessons learned from ...

Triple MiG Killer Colonel 'Rico' Rodriguez

June 21, 2022 22:08 - 1 hour - 143 MB

Welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! An opening line in the new TOPGUN Maverick movie is so appropriate for this episode. Our lessons learned discussion is with MiG Killer US Air Force retired Colonel Cesar "Rico" Rodriguez, an A-10 Hawg and F-15 Eagle pilot who DOES have three MiG kills in forty years. Rico tells the story of his two kills during Desert Storm in 1991 and the opening night of Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999. He also shares lessons learned from...

Hogs in the Sand with Buck Wyndham

June 02, 2022 06:01 - 1 hour - 127 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit show! There is one Air Force airplane that doesn't get a lot of love but every soldier or Marine wants overhead in a troops-in-contact situation: the Republic A-10 Warthog! The Hog is a devastating aircraft in combat and is known for its big GAU-8 30mm gun... Bbrrrrtttt! Buck Wyndham joins us with stories of his missions and exploits during Desert Storm, the first combat employment of the A-10. Buck had an opportunity to see firsthand wha...

Desert Storm Weasels with George "John Boy" Walton

May 26, 2022 04:34 - 1 hour - 104 MB

Welcome to the 25th episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show!   Colonel George "John Boy" Walton and his four-ship of F-4G Advanced Wild Weasels pulled up to my KC-135 on the opening night of Operation Desert Storm thirty-one years ago. He explains the Weasel mission and what the 12-ship of Weasels he was leading was tasked to do at 3 am near Baghdad: poke the eyes out of Saddam Hussein's air defenses. You always knew when the Weasels were coming to your tanker... they used BEER callsi...

Honoring The Candy Bomber Gail Halvorsen

May 18, 2022 04:33 - 5 minutes - 7 MB

This is a short episode of Lessons from the Cockpit to explain where I've been for two weeks. My wife and I volunteered for Colonel Gail Halvorsen Memorial service being held this week, 20-21 May 2022, at two Utah Valley airports: Provo Airport's new terminal, and Spanish Fork Airport. The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation World War II-era Douglas C-54D Skymaster will be on display with a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III at Provo Airport's new terminal Friday 20 May from 10 am to 3 pm....

Honoring the Candy Bomber Gail Halvorsen

May 18, 2022 04:30 - 5 minutes - 7 MB

This is a short episode of Lessons from the Cockpit to explain where I've been for two weeks. My wife and I volunteered for Colonel Gail Halvorsen Memorial service being held this week, 20-21 May 2022, at two Utah Valley airports: Provo Airport's new terminal, and Spanish Fork Airport. The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation World War II-era Douglas C-54D Skymaster will be on display with a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III at Provo Airport's new terminal Friday 20 May from 10 am to 3 pm...

Hunting Russian Subs with Navy Captain Frank Ellis

May 05, 2022 04:48 - 1 hour - 99 MB

Welcome to this episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I remember Civil Defense drills as a kid in Elementary school living in the Los Angeles area of the 1960s. A horn would go off and we'd all dive under our desks. Russian ballistic missile submarines roamed both coasts of the US. Retired Navy Captain Frank Ellis tells the tactics, techniques, and lessons learned from flying the Lockheed P-2V Neptune Maritime Patrol and Anti-Submarine Warfare plane hunting Russian subs and intelli...

Flying the Boom with Chief Dan Jones

April 29, 2022 00:08 - 39 minutes - 54.8 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! Air refueling does not happen without the KC-135 or KC-10 Boom Operator being in the Boom Pod of the tanker. These Enlisted heroes are what make air refueling possible. On today's show, our Chief Boom Operator from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron at Kadena Air Base Chief Master Sergeant Dan Jones shares his lessons of teamwork, innovation, and Esprit de Corps with us while flying some of the most intense and memorable missions of our li...

Leave No One Behind with Chris Russell

April 22, 2022 03:30 - 1 hour - 103 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! There is one thing all US service members promise to their comrades in arms... we leave no one behind! In early March of 2002 coalition forces began military operations in the Shahi-Khot Valley of Afghanistan, known now as Operation Anaconda. The start of this operation did not go well. On 4 March 2002 then Captian Chris Russell, an F-15E Strike Eagle Weapons System Operator, and his pilot Captain Kirk Reichkoff flying as TWISTER 52 took ...

Leave No One Behind with Chris "Spliff" Russell

April 22, 2022 03:20 - 1 hour - 103 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! There is one thing all US service members promise to their comrades in arms... we leave no one behind! In early March of 2002 coalition forces began military operations in the Shahi-Khot Valley of Afghanistan, known now as Operation Anaconda. The start of this operation did not go well. On 4 March 2002 then Captain Chris Russell, an F-15E Strike Eagle Weapons System Operator, and his pilot Captain Kirk Reichkoff flying as TWISTER 52 took...

Maintaining Aircraft Control with Weasel Pilot Dave Mason

April 15, 2022 05:25 - 1 hour - 141 MB

Welcome to episode 21 of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! My good friend Dave Mason and I walked and talked moving around the displayed aircraft at Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden Utah earlier this month. Dave relates how fliers learn in extreme situations to quickly compartmentalize problems and put fears in their place. The number one priority in the air always is maintaining aircraft control, including your emotions and voice! The Reagan 80's was a great time to be a military pilot. Air...

Maintaining aircraft control with Weasel Pilot Dave Mason

April 15, 2022 04:54 - 1 hour - 141 MB

Welcome to episode 21 of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! My good friend Dave Mason and I walked and talked moving around the displayed aircraft at Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden Utah earlier this month. Dave relates how fliers learn in extreme situations to quickly compartmentalize problems and put fears in their place. The number one priority in the air always is maintaining aircraft control, including your emotions and voice! The Reagan 80's was a great time to be a military pilot. Ai...

You are Never Alone with Caroline "Blaze" Jensen

April 07, 2022 05:02 - 54 minutes - 74.4 MB

Welcome to episode twenty of the Lesson from the Cockpit show! You are NEVER alone during flight. Every fighter or bomber aircrew will tell you warheads on foreheads is always a team effort. Ground weapons crews load Maverick missiles a Flight Lead directs after their wingman fires at a target called out by a Joint Terminal Attack Controller embedded with Special Forces teams. Aviators never forget scenery from the cockpit while flying, particularly at night. Night environments often requi...

Strategy and Tactics with Tazz Katuzienski

April 01, 2022 06:50 - 1 hour - 96.3 MB

Welcome to episode nineteen of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! Flying in the F-15 Eagle is an ultimate thrill. I know because I’ve done it three times. But deployed duties where airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Marines solve the most complex problems having theater-wide effects are often the most rewarding. Lt Col Joe Katuzienski (retired) is one of those US Air Force airmen who impacted air warfare at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war during a crucial time in Iraq an...

Strategy and Tactics with Joe "Tazz" Katuzienski

April 01, 2022 03:29 - 1 hour - 96.3 MB

Welcome to episode nineteen of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! Flying in the F-15 is an ultimate thrill. I know because I've done it three times. But deployed duties where airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Marines solve the most complex puzzles having theater-wide effects are often the most rewarding. Lt Col Joe Katuzienski (retired) is one of those US Air Force airmen who impacted air warfare at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war. Flying F-15 Eagles over Iraq in the ...

Fight for Centerline with Mo Barrett

March 24, 2022 23:58 - 1 hour - 90.7 MB

Welcome to another episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! On today's show, our guest Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Mo Barrett fights for centerline deciding to fly a very big airlifter or deploy with her Tanker Airlift Control Element (TALCE) team opening airfields for war in Afghanistan on 9/11. Her team makes two large Forward Operation Bases livable and operable with hours and had a unique way of evolving a place to go potty. Something simple every pilot carries on them becomes a ...

Flying Lessons with George Nolly

March 17, 2022 18:51 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MB

Welcome to another episode of Lessons from the Cockpit show! George Nolly gives us great lessons from logging time in O-2 Skymasters as a Forward Air Controller, and fighter pilot in the F-4D/E Phantoms over Vietnam. George even spent exactly one year in the big B-52! George flew with and now instructs for one of the major US airlines in the 737, and 777s with an Indian airline. He tells us there is no such thing as useless information and relates his most important lesson from a combat mi...

Flying with Pete Fleischmann

March 12, 2022 10:03 - 1 hour - 100 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! Pete Fleischmann flew F-16 Vipers in the Air Force and currently is an A320 Captain for one of the major US airlines. He also trains pilots how to avoid the leading cause of fatal aircraft accidents worldwide in a very unique classroom. On today's show, he tells us where good judgment really comes from, an essential management tool whenever and where ever an airplane leaves the ground, and the importance of basic stick and rudder skills a...

Flying with Pete "Pig" Fleischmann

March 12, 2022 10:02 - 1 hour - 100 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! Pete Fleischmann flew F-16 Vipers in the Air Force and currently is an A320 Captain for one of the major US airlines. He also trains pilots how to avoid the leading cause of fatal aircraft accidents worldwide in a very unique classroom. On today's show, he tells us where good judgment really comes from, an essential management tool whenever and where ever an airplane leaves the ground, and the importance of basic stick and rudder skills ...

Uncle Wiggly Wings

March 03, 2022 00:48 - 53 minutes - 73.6 MB

Welcome to episode fifteen of the Lessons From the Cockpit Show! In 1948 Douglas Aviation ran full-page ads of their C-54, a little girl catching glasses of milk dropped from the Skymaster aircraft. The Skymaster was making history during the Berlin Airlift. An aviation Rockstar was born during the airlift, flying a C-54 and dropping candy to German kids gathered along the fences of Tempelhof Airfield. 1Lt Gail Halvorsen became known as "Onkel Wackelflugel" or Uncle Wiggle Wings to the German...

Business of Joint Warfare

February 18, 2022 19:00 - 1 hour - 83.5 MB

Welcome to another episode of Lessons from the Cockpit Show! I had a conversation recently with a Commander I highly respect, for both his leadership skills and impeccable insights on the battlefield and in business. He and I were involved in numerous exercises with other US military services, our international partners, and the extremes of intense air campaigns over foreign nations. This episode captures four of the lessons learned on the battlefield and their application in the business w...

The Business of Joint Warfare

February 18, 2022 17:57 - 1 hour - 83.5 MB

Welcome to another episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! I had a conversation recently with a Commander I highly respect, for both his leadership skills and impeccable insights on the battlefield and in business. He and  I were involved in numerous exercises with other US military services, our international partners, and the extremes of intense air campaigns over foreign nations. This episode captures four of the lessons learned on the battlefield and their application in the business worl...

My Book of the Month List

February 10, 2022 23:53 - 58 minutes - 80.6 MB

Welcome to another episode of Lessons from the Cockpit Show! While teaching at the Joint Forces Staff College many of my students asked what books they should have in their libraries. I developed a list of books on joint warfare, decision-making on the battlefield, and leaders who really left an impact on their organizations. This episode of Lessons from the Cockpit discusses some of the books in my TOP TEN BOOKS category.

Book of the Month Club

February 10, 2022 23:25 - 58 minutes - 80.6 MB

Welcome to another episode of Lessons from the Cockpit Show!   While teaching at the Joint Forces Staff College many of my students asked what books they should have in their libraries. I developed a list of books on joint warfare, decision-making on the battlefield, and leaders who really left an impact on their organizations. This episode of Lessons from the Cockpit discusses some of the books in my TOP TEN BOOKS category. Here are the Amazon links to those books: 100 Days Hog Pilo...

Mission Commander

February 06, 2022 03:07 - 39 minutes - 54 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit Show! In this episode, we discuss red underwear, one of the greatest victories and defeats in modern air warfare, and how a Commander's Conference kept this Navy Captain from being incinerated. Our hero in this episode is Imperial Japanese Navy Captain Mitsuo Fuchida. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida was an expert tactician and planner, leading many Japanese Navy attacks throughout the Pacific. Flying as an observer in a Nakajima B5N2 Kate attack...

31st Anniversary of Desert Storm

January 18, 2022 05:51 - 56 minutes - 77.2 MB

Welcome to the eleventh episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! Thirty-one years ago early this morning my crew took off and flew our first combat mission on the opening night of Desert Storm. We refueled the first F-4G Wild Weasel and EF-111A Spark Vark package going to Baghdad to take down the integrated air defense system. This mission was intense! I kept a journal of every event and flight during my deployment 31 years ago. There are a lot of lessons learned not only from flying but being in...

Reputation and Trust

December 09, 2021 04:10 - 33 minutes - 46.1 MB

Welcome to the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! Into whose hands would you place trust and risk your life? Military service members deal with this question every day. There is one community of US Air Force aircraft aircrew members all over the world trust with their lives to. Why? Crews flying these two jets have the reputation of ALWAYS being at the right place and right time, but more importantly where they need to go when things go bad. They have saved countless lives and millions of doll...

The Power to Fly

November 09, 2021 03:38 - 1 hour - 87.1 MB

On this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit; Airplane designers analyze three elements for creating an airplane: Range, Payload, and Endurance. All three of these elements are affected by the aircraft engine. Two world-famous engines almost didn't make it into their iconic airframes. There were numerous obstacles business and engineering leaders overcame. One engine was within two weeks of cancellation. But companies took the high-risk road and it paid off in billions of dollars. Both of thes...

The More Thou Sweatest in Training...

October 28, 2021 07:41 - 28 minutes - 39.3 MB

On this the eighth episode of Lessons From the Cockpit: The US Air Force has its version of TOPGUN, training the best of the best from 18 different weapons, intelligence, command and control, Special Operations, rescue, and intercontinental ballistic missile forces. It's called the US Air Force Weapons School, based at Nellis Air Force Base in North Las Vegas. During one large force night training event, things did NOT go well for the students. One mistake snowballed into the loss of numerous...

Two Ears and One Mouth

October 19, 2021 05:02 - 23 minutes - 32.6 MB

On this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit: The good Lord gave us all two ears and one mouth for a reason. Important information is often given up because we spend too much time talking when we should be listening. One day my Boss set up two TOPGUN wannabes to be humiliated and it cost them $30 each! On a trip to San Diego, Jim and I visited the USS Midway Museum (https://www.midway.org/). Sitting in the F-4 dogfight simulator in Midway's Hanger Deck, my two adversaries' competitiveness and...

Exercise Beverly High 94-6

October 08, 2021 06:00 - 26 minutes - 35.7 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! There is one training event during my Air Force career  I can truly say was transformational. And it started with a 3M sticky note on my desk written by the #3 Commander on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Japan. Fearing I wasn't up to this task, that Commander let me and my counterpart use our imagination and initiative to create one of the most complex and dynamic training exercises in 18th Wing history. This exercise trained the largest comb...

Am I Enough?

October 08, 2021 05:52 - 26 minutes - 35.7 MB

Welcome to this episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! There is one training event during my Air Force career  I can truly say was transformational. And it started with a 3M sticky note on my desk written by the #3 Commander on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Japan. Fearing I wasn't up to this task, that Commander let me and my counterpart use our imagination and initiative to create one of the most complex and dynamic training exercises in 18th Wing history. This exercise trained the largest combi...

Second Hour interview with Mike Reed

October 01, 2021 02:42 - 49 minutes - 68 MB

Welcome to this episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Our conversation with Mike "Coma" Reed continues this week, telling us his story of integrating all the systems in the Lockheed F-22 Raptor, arguably the most lethal fighter jet in the world. Mike explains why the F-22 program and development performed so well and the F-35 program continues to have challenges. Age and treachery will always overcome youth and exuberance as Mike relates an event with a Russian TU-95 Bear Bomber of...

Raptors, Bears, and Bush with Mike "Coma" Reed

October 01, 2021 02:42 - 49 minutes - 68 MB

Welcome to this episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Our conversation with Mike "Coma" Reed continues this week, telling us his story of integrating all the systems in the Lockheed F-22 Raptor, arguably the most lethal fighter jet in the world. Mike explains why the F-22 program and development performed so well and the F-35 program continues to have challenges. Age and treachery will always overcome youth and exuberance as Mike relates an event with a Russian TU-95 Bear Bomber of...

Raptors, Bears and Bush with Mike "Coma" Reed

October 01, 2021 02:31 - 49 minutes - 68 MB

Welcome to this episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Our conversation with Mike "Coma" Reed continues this week, telling us his story of integrating all the systems in the Lockheed F-22 Raptor, arguably the most lethal fighter jet in the world. Mike explains why the F-22 program and development performed so well and the F-35 program continues to have challenges. Age and treachery will always overcome youth and exuberance as Mike relates an event with a Russian TU-95 Bear Bomber off ...

Mike "Coma" Reed and Flying Fighters in the Cold War Far East

September 23, 2021 03:38 - 1 hour - 94.2 MB

Welcome to this week's episode of Lessons from the Cockpit. My best friend from my boyhood Mike Reed callsign COMA was in Utah this last week. He and I sat down to talk about his lessons from flying F-4 Phantoms during the Cold War in the Far East and aeronautical engineering. Sun Tzu's first chapter in The Art of War opens with the line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State." You may not have an interest in geopolitics but geopolitics will always have an interest in you. Com...

Flying Phantoms in the Reagan Cold War with Mike "Coma" Reed

September 23, 2021 02:47 - 1 hour - 95.2 MB

Welcome to this week's episode of Lessons from the Cockpit. This week my best friend from my boyhood Mike Reed callsign COMA was in Utah. He and I sat down to talk about his lessons from flying F-4 Phantoms during the Cold War in the Far East and aeronautical engineering. Sun Tzu's first chapter in The Art of War opens with the line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State." You may not have an interest in geopolitics but geopolitics will always have an interest in you. Coma expla...

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