Who in the Hell are the Wingmen Anyway?-Part 2

Wingmen Show

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The phrase, “float like a butterfly….sting like a bee”, is touted as the second most recognized saying in the modern world, courtesy of Drew Bundini Brown and espoused publicly by his protégé, Muhammad Ali.

Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida was touted as the Cradle of Naval Aviation to legions of Navy pilots for almost seventy years. This indoctrination into this specialized branch of the U.S. military is unique to the piloting world, and perhaps best illustrated in the blockbuster movie, “An Officer and a Gentlemen”. Even though the filmmakers took great literary license in making a compelling video by skewing reality, they managed to capture some of the essential elements of the experience faced by Dr. Paul and Commander Drew.

What is a Poopie? The short answer is, “the lowest form of life known to man”, that is according to our U.S. Marine Corps drill instructors. As a Poopie, long before he became Commander Drew, this somewhat carefree native New Yorker was molded into a Naval Officer who stood ramrod straight and learned to pay particular attention to detail in all aspects of life.

One of the most interesting aspects of water survival training is the ability to extricate oneself from a submerged aircraft. The Dilbert Dunker for fixed wing airplanes and its close cousin, the helo-Dunker for helicopters, are the contraptions used for this lifesaving training, a maneuver which no one ever wants to do in real life.

At the completion of Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School and official commissioning as a Navy Ensign, it was common practice to present one’s Marine Corps Drill Instructor with a single silver dollar as an expression of gratitude for the life-changing training provided by this unrelenting task master. Commander Drew’s transformation was so dramatic he, give his Drill Instructor not one, but two silver dollars; one for himself and another in the memory of his father, long before Drew-senior came up with his famous quote.

After becoming a Naval Officer, actual flight school became another type of initial training, that could be as tough as what had been done on the ground. This “boot camp in the air” was significantly tougher than the indoctrination from the drill instructors on dry land. This was particularly true for those who had no prior flying experience. The intensity of the flight training required combinations of intellect, toughness and perseverance, all of which would be rigorously tested before flying solo….and most especially in preparation for the ultimate test of a new Navy Pilot…..landing on a floating ship at sea, which was the culmination of everything that had been done leading up to this seminal event.