Comment from LUKE DELISIO
LUKE DELISIOSupportIndividual
Summary: Matthew T. Keefe, a former Navy Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) and current commercial pilot, supports the proposed action. He argues that the training and experience gained as a WSO in military aircraft directly translate to the skills required for civilian pilot certifications and ATP requirements.
As a Super Hornet WSO that, transitioned to Part 135 flying and soon after to Part 121 flying E190s and A220, I fully support this movement. I wholeheartedly believe that because of my training and experience in the Navy of flying in the backseat of super hornets it directly transferred over to flying an airplane. The only addition I had to add was the basic monkey skills of flying the airplane with the stick and throttle.
As a WSO we are already doing the job of a pilot monitoring and much more. We talk to ATC on the radios, run checklists, manage the systems and do this all while utilizing CRM with precision. On top of a normal duty of flying from point A to point B, we are also tending to the mission. That could be managing more than three other hornets or airborne assets, talking to the JTAC/ FAC(a) to support the troops on the ground, managing weapons and sensors etc. We are bred to multitask and think ahead of the airplane in all phases of flight. We train and deal with airborne emergencies just as a pilot would. This directly translates to flying and gaining the aeronautical experience that the FAA wants the pilots to obtain for their ATP.
As a WSO that was able to obtain all my certifications while active duty. I can directly see the benefit of my training as a pilot. I have never have had a checkride failure, and in my airline training, I believe I excelled only based on the fact I that I had all of this special crew time in the back seat of a F-18. I was already used to running checklist, talking on the radios, dealing with complex emergencies and thinking way ahead of the airplane that travels well over 500 knots. I was able to excel ahead of my peers that only had the 1500 hours of single engine piston time with no issues in training whatsoever. I had no failures and no repeat events.
This is not a testament to my skill.. rather it’s a testament to the training and experience the Navy and Air Force gives us as all as WSO/NFOs/CSO/Navigator/EWO/etc. We are an untapped source of experience, not because we choose to be. But because bureaucracy and the lack knowledge of what we can bring to the table in the civilian sector.