[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by cairns

With all due respect (and plenty is due) to the Navy pilots who land on carriers....I can't imagine any Air Force pilot would be capable of doing that without months of training- the same way the Navy pilots learned. Not to mention I wasn't aware AF aircraft had arresting hooks.

One uncle of mine flew AF fighters throughout the 50s and 60s- was one of the first to go supersonic in an F100. The other uncle was a bombardier in the 8th Air Force 30 plus missions. There are plenty of balls and ability in every line of the service.

This. A former boss of mine was an ex-F18 driver. They do some pretty intensive training to qualify for a live carrier landing. It's a choreographed dance of dozens of multimillion dollar airplanes traveling at hundreds of miles per hour, carrying live ordnance, sometimes low on fuel, and occurring 24/7/365 regardless of weather. Oh yeah, and with complete radio silence. Not something that you just pick up overnight. Despite being a combat pilot and a test pilot with 20+ years experience, he stated that a night carrier landing was the most challenging and terrifying thing that he ever did.

Regardless of the scandal of the hour, we have some damn fine men and women in every line of service. Many of them suffering through some hellish conditions as we speak. I've worked with some incredible professionals in our armed forces, and am incredibly grateful for their service.